Breaking Boundaries
by konnokyo
Summary: Takes place a few months after the New York invasion. After Loki is stripped from his powers and sent to Midgard, it's up to Tony Stark to teach the fallen god of mischief how to survive as a human. Tony has to realize he has more in common with the god than he thought and slowly Loki starts to get under his skin. Rated M for FrostIron.
1. Chapter 1: Mercy

_A/N: Okay my very first fanfiction! I am actually really nervous about publishing anything i wrote so jeah. My native language isn't english, and I don't have a beta right now, so i apologize for any mistakes i made. Please bear with me.  
One of my ocs will play a minor role in this story, just to let you know. And there will be smut in later chapters, since I'm a big Tony/Loki fan, so yeah. I hope that some of you'll enjoy the story and fave or review it.  
Story starts with Loki being captive in Asgard, a few months after the movie.  
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___Also I merged the first and second chapter together, because that's where they belong, it's kinda like a prolog.  
And btw, if you came for the SMUT, it starts in chapter 10~_

EDIT: I rewrote this chapter and will rewrite the next few(when I find the spare time) because I hated it. Gosh it was atrocious. Hope it is better now.

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**Chapter 1: Mercy**

It was dark again. Loki couldn't even see his own hands. He touched his bruised lips again and hissed from the touch. The pain reminded him on the torture he had to endure these past weeks. Actually, he wasn't sure whether it had been weeks or months now. The time did seem to stand still in this prison. Especially when most of the time everything was wrapped in black. Imprisonment was nothing new, he had endured more than this. But the darkness was an entirely different thing. It gnawed on his thoughts, his sanity, let him envision things he never wanted remember ever again.

He sighed, letting out a breath he didn't know he had held. This time they really meant it. He wasn't going to get out of this. Not this time. They had weakened him with their punishments. His body was beaten up, bruised and bled. Every bone in his body had been broken. They always healed him up as much as needed, so he wouldn't die of his injuries. Barely enough to let him still experience the pain. Most of his limps were numb by the end of the day and he was barely able to move at all. Loki's hair stuck to his face, filthy with dirt and his own blood. He leaned against a wall, the coldness soothed his headache. And as every day, they left him in this shithole, seeing things, hearing things, loosing the last bit of sanity.

Loki had tried to summon his magic more than once, but it was no use. A green spark spread from one of his fingers to the other, but vanished into thin air as fast as it had appeared. He laughed bitterly at himself and buried his face in his hands. This was ridiculous. What did they promised themselves from holding him here. It didn't make sense to him. They tortured him, trying to discipline him, but this was wasted effort. Loki didn't know if they wanted to bring him back to his...old self, or just punish him for eternity. But really, what exactly did he expect when he was brought back by his... _brother. _A warm welcome? No. They had quietly and secretly sneaked him into this cell, not daring to show the black sheep of the family to Asgard's people. And this had been so typical.

Loki laughed at his thoughts. The glorious, royal heir wasn't supposed to involve itself with a bastard like him. An ice giant. A beast. And as he knew Odin, he hadn't told them anything of his true heritage, always careful to keep everything perfect and in order. He couldn't effort to make his subjects lose trust and questioning his motives, so, of course that tiny detail wouldn't ever come out. So it was actually very likely that Odin kept him here to break his resistance, to bring him back on the right track. But this would not go as the All-Father had planed. They could do to him what ever they wanted. Starve and torture him, sewing his lips shut and yet, he was still very much himself. And what ever they did, it would only stir his anger, his hatred for every one of those hypocrites.

A wide grin played on his lips, unable to hide his amusement about his own thoughts. It was funny how he kept smiling even in this kind of situation. It couldn't get any worse than this. Because, really, what did he had left? The only person he still cared for was his mother. The one who had raised him. Frigga also was the only one who was visiting him in here. And every time she had seen him, she had started to cry for her son and he had averted his gaze almost immediately. Loki closed his eyes and dwelt in memories of the past. Better times. Even though he always had been in the shadow of his brother, he had been happy. He sighed heavily and tried to fall asleep, but deep sleep was something he didn't get for quite a while. Whenever he dozed off, memories of the rift or the torture haunted him, waking him up, or Odin's henchmen made sure to harass him further. Just like this time.

The door painfully opened under a piercing shriek and bathed the cell in intense light, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. He was fairly certain that they did this on purpose. Holding his bruised hands over his eyes, he was able to make out two figures, stalking towards him in heavy armor.

"Loki Odinson."

He snarled at the use of his former name, clenching his jaw and looked up to the two men. Einherjer, Odin's most loyal and dewy-eyed soldiers. And now the game would start all over again. Loki wanted to sneer about how their effort was wasted, but was rudely interrupted by the taller one.

"You will hereby sent to your trials, executed by the All-Father himself, so that you'll face your punishments and may redeem yourself."

He shook his head at the word _redeem _and smiled. What kind of trial could ever help him change his way. The All-Father was stupid to think of him as so easy to break. But nonetheless, the fact that he still didn't understand, was amusing. There wouldn't be an idyllic world ever again. This almost pleasant thought was interrupted with them hauling him, more than roughly, to his feet, before they dragged him to the exit. Loki's legs didn't want to function, but the Einherjer ignored the groan of protest and made him walk even faster. They entered the stairs to the surface and Loki frowned when the filthy, gray walls changed into shiny, golden ones.

It hurt his eyes to look at all that golden pageantry. Everything was so bright and it suddenly became obvious to him that he didn't belong here. A Jötunn, an evil ice giant, should not wander Asgard's halls. Even now he couldn't comprehend why Odin would have kept the son of his enemy, but it didn't even matter anymore. Whatever ulterior motives he had pretended to have, he sure regretted that he had taken him in by now. At least that was what he hoped for.

They dragged him into the great hall and much to his surprise, these trials were indeed public. Never had he expected Odin to let them in on this matter. The sight of all those Aesir, standing there to watch his downfall, sent shivers down his spine. It was the anticipation of what would come and he chuckled when they passed Thor, who looked mortified at the view of his brother. Loki bared his teeth in an almost feral snarl as the man reached out for him. Under the light his injuries were visible and even with cuts and bruises on his face, clothes smeared with his blood, he wouldn't let that prick touch him ever again. Thor had not come to him once, since he had been captive in his former home. And he didn't need any support from him, not now, nor ever.

Loki was yanked forward, was released and couldn't prevent falling onto his knees with a swear. His eyes shot up to look at the All-Father, staring right into his eye, with the most smug smile he could manage in this situation. Odin was not going to break him. The crowd roared, but when Odin raised his voice, the bystanders fell quite and turned their attention to the All-Father. Generally, the Trickster loved the courtesy of the folk, but now he felt vulnerable, delivered to all those eyes, who were hungry for his punishment. These people weren't better than insects, feasting on other people's defeat.

"Loki, my son."

He huffed and rolled his eyes. How much longer did they have to pretend to be related. This game was getting old fast.

"You brought great shame and dishonor to your family and the people of Asgard."

Odin's voice was calm and collected as he spoke.

"I can't even begin with how grievously disappointed I am, how awful lot you embarrassed yourself with your doings."

Loki turned his head to the side, avoiding the All-Fathers gaze. Again, nothing new. He had heard this a hundred times by now. His henchmen had hammered it into his brain. This little gesture turned Odin to raise from his throne, now screaming in all his might, shaking Loki to the very core and drawing his eyes back to the source of the voice.

"You not only broke my trust in you, but also exploiting those, who are defenseless and under our protection!"

Loki wasn't able to look away, nor hide the emotions on his face. He was disgusted with the sympathy for those pathetic creatures.

"You, the selfish little boy you are, will take responsibility for your wrongdoings, live among the very beings you tried to rule, as a mortal. Vulnerable and defenseless!"

With this Loki's eyes widened. He had been prepared to find his death within these walls, to endure torture and punishment for as long as it would last, but this shook him with anxiety. It was the worst thing the All-Father could ever do to him, let him live besides those ants. Loki still tried to comprehend what was going when Odin lifted his hand, pulling Loki up to his feet and stripped him of the remaining parts of his former gold and leather armor, leaving him with nothing but the simple linen cloths on the floor. It was more than degrading and he wouldn't ever forgive him for doing this to him.

"Since you are not in the mind to posses your magic, I will contain it as long as you aren't cured from your illness of craving power."

Odin's voice was softer now and he placed his hands on Loki's shoulder.

"It hurts me to do this, Loki."

The raven-haired god huffed at this.

"And whatever you'll do, rest assured that you will always be my son and flesh."

Loki laughed bitterly, his gaze directed to the floor. No. He wasn't his son. Never had been. And this would not change. He was still laughing when Odin stepped back and cast a portal right behind him to send him to earth. Before he was pulled into it, he threw a half-hearted smile at him.

"All-Father, if you wanted to show me mercy, you should have just executed me right here...

* * *

From all the places on that stupid rock, it had to be this one. Loki laughed at the irony in this very move, cursing Odin with silent words. He had sent Loki, in Thor's wake, to the only place on Midgard that could have been worse than torture, worse than anything even the Trickster God could have imagined. Shields Helicarrier. If it hadn't for him being in this situation, he had laughed. He had been here before, captive yes, but on purpose. Had let himself get captured to pursue his goals. But now it was different.

Loki's hands were held behind his back by Thor, who dragged him along the corridors. It was humiliating how little control or power he had left. Thor didn't speak to him the whole march to the bridge and Loki was grateful for that. The smile the blonde normally wore was wiped off his face. The black-haired god was barely able to keep abreast with his brother. His legs were still sore from the beating and sitting in that dark and filthy dungeon. Loki tried to not wince at every step he took, didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing him wounded.

The soldiers that passed their way were startled at the presence of him and looked at Thor for help, but earned just a wink of his hand as he continued along the hallway. Loki muttered his discontent when they reached the door to the bridge, not keen of what would follow. No doubt the Midgardians wouldn't be too content with him being in their realm again and the feeling was mutual. The harm he caused was still fresh, the casualties too great, that even the kindest human could forgive him that easily. Not that he would ever want or needed their consent. But he knew, he would face the greatest nuisance within this room. Their leader would be in there. Director Fury, as they called him. And Loki couldn't stand that mortal. Fury would make a short shrift of him, he was sure of it.

The realization struck him when he was hauled through the now opened door. What was it with people always shoving him around as if he couldn't walk by himself. Before he could even straighten his now ruffled hair, his hands were again bent behind his back, shooting waves of paint through his body, making him fall to his knees. He heard the ever-present clicks of loaded weapons right beside his ears and shook his head, smile twisted with pain. It was nothing like he felt before. Sure, he wasn't new to the concept of pain, living so long made you experience more than one serious injury, but this, now mortal body, made the searing pain even worse. It was a weakness. And he hated the pure thought of being weak.

"Now, now. Is that the way to treat an old friend." The god spat, teeth bared, voice dripping of sarcasm.

It was what he could do best. Even if no one would recommend acting like that in front of an all to powerful enemy, he couldn't help himself making that witty remark. He didn't care for the consequences that could follow. Just by looking at Thor's face, he knew that the blonde wouldn't let them kill him, or even hurt him too badly. That oaf still believed him to be his little brother.

"Why the fuck is the megalomaniac back on our planet!?"

The question was directed towards Thor, who stood uselessly next to his brother. He looked lost at the current situation. Fury was on him in a blink, yanking Thor from his thoughts.

"I asked, why the fuck is your pathetic excuse of a brother on my ship!"

Loki cleared his throat.

"Well I am not.." he started, just to get interrupted by the man with the eye-patch.

"You shouldn't even open your mouth." The patronizing gaze shifting to him once more.

The god left out a small chuckle, had thrown his hand up in defeat, if that would have been possible with all those guards manhandling him. Fury clearly had problems to contain his sentiment within his presence, already breathing heavy because of the immense anger that flared inside him. And Loki was delighted by it. He liked how he could wind him up so easily. The director let out a frustrated groan and turned to Thor again, who desperately tried to find the right words for this dilemma.

"It was to the All-Fathers wishes, that my brother..."

Interrupted again. The man had a thing for dominating conversations as it seemed. Loki examined Thor's face with a strange hint of satisfaction. It was rare that the blonde wasn't holding the upper hand. Quite amusing to watch.

"If it didn't come to you the last time, I will have to repeat myself."

Fury turned around, facing the god of mischief, who knelt on the ground, as he spoke.

"I don't care for what your dear father wishes. He doesn't have anything to say on this planet. And we would have handled it our way, if you wouldn't have insisted on bringing him to Asgard!"

Thor was about to protest, but was cut off immediately.

"And now you bring him," He pointed on the god on the floor, face distorted with disgust, "the biggest threat in history, back to the very place he wrecked. And for what?! Letting him do his thing here, so you won't have to babysit him on your flying rock?"

Thor sighed heavily and pulled a hand over his face. It made him look older and more tired than ever.

"Please let me explain myself." He raised his eyes to Fury's, who stood there merely an inch away from his face, raising his eyebrow in utterly confusion.

"I am hearing." He said in a mocking tone.

"My father..." he began. "Thought that it was a good idea to let my brother experience the nature of you humans, the ones he harmed, so he gave him the same chance I was given, when I had made mistakes." He swallowed.

"So, as I recall correctly, you were stripped of your powers and thrown down to our planet, leaving a whole town a mess, because they sent the destroyer after you, causing several civilians to lose their homes. And you want me to let your brother roam freely." Fury shook his head a few times.

"It is but to your mercy what happens to my brother." His voice was tainted with sadness, almost crumbling under the directors gaze.

Loki just rolled his eyes. This was not the first time he had heard that tone in his voice. It was full of disappointment, sorrow and pity, he hated it with every fiber of his body. It was the same of which the All-Father always spoke to him. The black sheep of the family. For this whole, one-sided, conversation, he had been silent. Had listened to that puny human spitting nothing but insults at him. But now he laughed. Laughed at this last sentence. Laughed at those fools for belittle him with their speech and thinking that they were in control.

"I am to no one's mercy, nor am I your brother, you fawning pig."

Thor clenched his fist at the insult, but didn't do anything else. He closed his eyes, not daring to look at his aggravated brother.

"And how dare you even talk about me like that you puny mortal, I am a god!"

With this he broke away from the soldiers that had held him still, and rose to his feet. He was tall and frightening to most humans, but the man in front him just eyed him with disinterest. This was clearly not the reaction he had hoped for and it made him clench his jaw. Fury turned his indifferent gaze to Thor once more, channeling his thoughts.

"So, you tell me, your dearest brother here, is nothing more than a pathetic human being now. No magic and powers whatsoever?"

Thor wasn't exactly sure at what Fury was aiming, but nonetheless answered him.

"Yes, that is correct. Our father took away his magic, to ensure that he won't cause any more mischief on this realm and to help him actually learn something from your people."

He saw a pleased grin plastered over Fury's face, startled as to why his words may have such impact on the man before him. Thor shook the thought from his mind and quickly continued.

"As I said, he may be under your oversight, but I have to ensure his well-being." His voice suddenly serious.

Fury seemed to consider this and ignored Loki's murmurs and curses behind him.

"So no torture or confinement, death sentence or all those other funny things. He should repay his dept to humanity, did I get this right?"

A small nod from the blonde god.

"Well fuck me, will you give me a second then?

With this Fury turned on his heels, and punched the raven haired god in the face. Thor starred terrified at his brother, now lying unconscious on the floor, before returning his gaze to Fury again. Before any words could leave his mouth, Fury nodded and massaged his knuckles, trying to restrain the smile on his lips.

"Well if this is him making amends, I sure like it. Especially when he keeps his mouth shut."

He gestured to his men to carry the unconscious god to one of the quarters.

"So..." Thor began, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Will you permit his stay here then?"

The god eyed Fury vaguely, watching the man thinking.

"You can be sure that I won't let him stay here. This is the fucking secret base, I won't want to fuel any further plans on his future world domination."

Thor huffed at this. He knew the human couldn't trust his brother that easily and he could understand this. Even he himself had sometimes problems with figuring him out, but still he had faith in him. His little brother, even though not of the same heritage than him, had a good side, he was sure of it.

"We will need a babysitter for him. And some place he can stay. Somewhere far away from me."

There was some small spark of amusement behind that brown eye. Fury had the perfect person for this task in mind. A little revenge for all those snappy responses he had gotten. A small smile snuck on the blondes lips when he stalked after Director Fury.

"You propose?" Was the only question he offered.

After a look over his shoulder, Fury turned to Hill.

"Get me Stark on the phone."


	2. Chapter 2: Small Favor

_A/N: Thanks again for the review and follows guys! I really appreciate it! This chapter: Meh stupid girls and first meeting yay! Hope you'll enjoy this ( slightly longer) chapter! (This is the last chapter i have written so far, so it will take me a lil while to upload the next. =)  
_

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**Chapter 2: Small favor**

As far as Tony was concerned, his life was pretty good overall. Since this whole alien accident a few months ago, there hadn't been one headline without his name on it. The avengers were on everyone's lips, Stark Industries' stocks went through the roof and ideas just appeared in the mind of the inventor on their own.

Sure, he had a hard time with one particular woman at the moment, Pepper to be exact, who had left him just one month after the New York disaster. She had told him she couldn't handle his ego any more. Apparently that had always been one problem between them and she had decided to let it matter after he had rescued the world. In fact, Tony knew that she was right with everything she said. She always was. When in his lab or out in the public he really could be out of touch with reality. He couldn't help himself. He just loved the attention, the playboy in him demanded it. Which wouldn't have been a problem when there hadn't been all the flirting with basically every living. She hadn't been able to change him, so she had left. Well, not entirely, she still wore the pants as the CEO of his company. And he was thankful for this. She always said he needed a babysitter, that he wouldn't attend one meeting, if he hadn't someone who constantly check his appointments. Which was, even though Tony would never say that out loud, completely true.

So, despite the Pepper problem, Anthony Edward Stark's life was pretty nice. And yet there was still one thing that could make his life even more enjoyable. Actually there were three things. Those three european models in his king-sized bed. And just how they were about to make his life even better.

They lay there, fiddling with the sheets beneath their perfect bodies, when Tony came back into his bedroom with four glasses of champagne.

"Well Ladies, glad you could make it." he said charmingly as he handed over the glasses and sat down between them.

He glanced from the black-haired to the blonde, reminding himself why he took those girls home: Beautiful women, long hair, endless legs and perfect breasts and asses. The blonde started to shove her hand under the man's shirt, while the brunette nipped on his ear.

Oh yeah, and their dirty minds. Nothing more attractive than a girl with dirty thoughts. He liked that. Within the next minute, their hands were all over him. The inventor touched the blond's cheek, leaning in to kiss her soft lips, but a voice interrupted before he could reach her.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your unfinished business here, but I'm afraid Director Fury is on the line."

Tony tried to ignore the AI's voice, quirking an eyebrow at the sound, and turned back to the blonde he still held in his grasp. She licked over his lips and smiled flirty.

"Oh, Mister Stark, you still have work to do?"

He didn't like her voice, it was shrill and unnerving, so he closed the distance between them with a growl and kissed her to shut her up. Again the AI's voice sounded through the room.

"Sir, I suggest you talk to Director Fury. He told me it is indeed urgent."

Tony rid himself from the blonde and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sometimes his inventions really went on his nerves.

"Just fob Fury off...Can't be that hard Jarvis." He replied, bugged by the determination of the AI.

"Very well,Sir."

He rolled his eyes and focused his attention back on the all present hands which roamed his body. He pulled the black-haired woman onto his lap, he was pretty sure her name was Anika, or well at least something with an a, and sucked on her collarbone. She sighed softly and whimpered under his touch, just to get startled and almost fall from the bed, when a deep voice resounded from the speakers.

"Stark!" Fury screamed through the phone, annoyance clear in his voice.

Tony just groaned, wondering how the hell Fury was able to overwrite Jarvis' safety record. He really had to update the firmware more often. He made a mental note for himself to fix this later.

"Unfortunately Tony Stark is not available at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep... Beep." He couldn't help but smile, when the girls started to chuckle at the prank.

"Stark, I know you're there, quit the bullshit!"

Tony couldn't help himself grinning. It was way to much fun annoying the director. A tongue licked over his neck, followed by another pair of lips and hands caressing his skin, making it hard for him to focus on the call.

"Ah, you're no fun darling, always interrupting all the good stuff." The man managed to press out, before instantly getting back at the blonde, who's hand traveled down his chest.

"Too bad." The voice over the speakers sounded, indifferent as always, making Tony roll his eyes.

"What can I do for you today?" Tony asked, just as impassive, voice lacking nothing of his usual sarcasm. "Alien Invasion or just the usual terrorism crap?" He could hear Fury growl over the line and grinned at the reaction.

"You know, normally I aim to please, but right now I'm rather busy." A hand tilted his chin to the side, his lips caught in another kiss.

"Ten Minutes, Stark, then I expect you to be on the carrier. Not one minute later!" Fury snarled after a few minutes when no answer came and ended the call right after that.

The inventor was this time too busy for rolling his eyes. Those women were too good to just end this right here. But Fury was like an overly attached girlfriend, always demanding attention. If he wouldn't go now, Fury would never get off his ass again. He was knocked off his thoughts when he heard that pesky voice again.

"Oh Tony, don't tell us you have to leave us so soon! We didn't even start yet."

The blonde pouted, like a little girl. Tony suddenly felt old in comparison to her and sighed heavily. He knew, he couldn't ignore that call, so he tried to lift himself from the bed.

"Ladies, I'm afraid I have to save the world again..."

An irritated smile on his face. But before he could actually raise to his feet, he felt a hand on the zipper of his pants. Tony gulped and followed the movement with his eyes. This was a pretty convincing argument, so he shrugged and let himself fall back on the bed.

"Well, if you ask me so nicely, I guess I have some more minutes to spare."

* * *

Of course Tony Stark was late again. Not that Fury actually had ever envisaged him to be punctual. He was tired of Stark's habits, one could see it in his face the moment Tony stepped into the room.

"Late, as usual..." he grumbled, provoking a smug smile from the billionaire.

Tony waved a hand in greeting to Captain America, who leaned lazily against a nearby wand and shook his head at him. Steve always had the same expression whenever Tony was concerned. It was pretty entertaining for him to tease the the man and he wanted to tell him how old he looked when he grimaced like this, but Fury's voice kept him from saying anything.

"A question, Stark."

The noise directed Tony's attention again to the man before him, who was standing dangerously close to his face now.

"What is it dearest?" Tony answered with feigned enthusiasm.

"Is it too bright in here or do you have something on your eyes?"

Fury gestured to the sunglasses Tony was wearing and the man just sighed. Of course he wouldn't tell Fury that he was still completely hangover from the night before and the fun with the women he had the last hours didn't exactly help him recover. So he decided to do what he could best. Give some snippy comebacks.

"Yeah, well, director, if you ask me like this."

He looked around in the room and made some gestures with his hands, Fury clearly sceptical of what would follow. Tony started stiding across the room, eying everything up before turning back to the man.

"The room's atmospheric light sources are totally out-of-place."

Tony wondered how he could keep a straight face at the bullshit coming out of his mouth. Feng shui had never been a thing for him, but Pepper had told him a few things, which fortunately stuck in his brain.

"I could give you the number of my interior architect, but I think classy is just not your style."

He smirked and even the Captain seemed to be amused, as he tried to hide a smile behind his hand. Fury on the other hand didn't seem jolly at all. He walked right past Tony without saying a word, but seemingly expected him to follow, since Steve had pushed himself from the wall, now standing beside the billionaire and nodding at him to follow suit.

* * *

Tony was walking besides Steve, hands in his pockets and utterly disinterested. What could be so urgent that he had to walk all the way over. The carrier had miles of walkways and just after one minute of walking he got tired of it. Why didn't they install escalators here, it would save them so much time. He decided to distract himself from being bored to death and whispered to the man walking beside him.

"He sure is touchy today, isn't he."

Rhetorical question, obviously. Anyhow it caught Steve's courtesy. He scratched his neck unceremoniously and looked just a bit uncomfortable about what he was about to say.

"Who could blame him for that, he has every reason to be."

He caught Tony's eye and the expression on Steves face made the engineer cock up an eyebrow. So it really was important.

"You will see in a minute."

Tony opened his mouth to ask, but was cut off when the men before them abruptly stopped and he almost stumbled into one of them. Maybe sunglasses weren't really such a good idea after all... Fury turned to him with a smug smile on his lips which caught the billionaire off guard. The thought that Fury was actually scarier when smiling was making him slightly nervous. Not that there was a moment when Fury was actually not scary.

"You know that one time with the beach and how our PR saved your ass?"

The grin even widened and Tony wasn't sure if a mouth should bend so far. Of course he remembered _that _accident. It was branded into is brain. He tensed visibly, closed his eyes and tried to loosen his tie a bit. Why was his mouth so dry all of a sudden. So Fury really wasn't above blackmailing, sneaky bastard. He knit his brows while speaking up.

"Hmm, maybe I do recall something there. Might want to explain to me why you bring that up again?"

A clap on the shoulder.

"Well, since you owe me, I have something here for you to repay the favor."

Tony put his shades in his breast pocket and was guided into the room, the man still vary of what to come, eying Fury carefully.

"Wha...?"

The words died in his throat when his eyes landed on the man sitting on the bed, hand in his lap, flashing the brightest, genuine and most vicious smile he had ever seen in his entire life. Normally, fast replies and snippy remarks were his trademark, but now his brain seemed to malfunction. The puzzled, horrified look was answered with a look of pure innocence from Fury. There wasn't really time to form an answer, because a voice hauled him from his thoughts.

"Hello Stark."

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_Please review =)_


	3. Chapter 3: Long Ride Home

_A/N: Okay here's the new chapter! I really hope you enjoy this story so far, I do my best to keep mistakes to a minimum and to update regularly. And it's longer! Yay! I planned on doing some kind of doodle for every chapter, hopefully i have the time to do that =D  
Thanks again to the new followers!  
Edit: rewrote this chapter.  
_

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**Chapter 3: Long ride home**

Tony still had the baffled look on his face when he felt a hand clap his shoulder hard, making him stumble forward. He straightened and cast a glance over to the tunderer, only to see the blond god beam a bright smile at him.

"Man of Iron, it's been long." Thor greeted with a small nod.

"Yeah, why exactly are you so cheerful again?"

The billionaire just stood there and grimaced, perplexed because seemingly everyone in this room was okay with the god of mischief sitting here like nothing ever happened. Thor took him into a huge bear hug, almost suffocating Tony with his strength. The guy really had to tone it down for once.

"Alright, big guy, let me down..." The engineer grunted.

Thor complied instantly and sat Tony back down on the ground, earning an annoyed look from him.

"...and explain to me why Loki, the god of mischief, the one that lead an alien attack against New York and destroyed half the city, is sitting here, in Shields Helicarrier? Did I missed the memo or something?!"

A finger pointed to the sitting god. Tony took a much-needed breath after his little rant, shaking his head in absolute disbelieve of what was happening here.  
Everyone in the room fell silent, except for Loki who left out a small chuckle. Tony shot him a disgusted look, then turned to Fury who just shrugged. Not even Fury grinned anymore. The man only looked completely emotionlessly back at him, without saying a word. And Tony just stood there, looked like a drowned rat with his mouth open. Speechless, a scene that happened only once in ages. Tony Stark being speechless. Definitely something one had to mark down on the calender. After a short while of complete and utter silence, Thor toke pity on him, sighed and laid his hand on the man's arm.

"My brother is here to make amends for his wrong doings."

A loud hiss was heard from the other side of the room. Loki suddenly stood, making his way over to Thor.

"When will you finally drop the assumption that I am your brother you oaf!?" Loki snarled.

It was more of a threat than a question really. Loki grabbed the blonde-haired god by his collar, tried to yank him from his feet, but it was wasted effort. Thor stood on the spot like a rock. The only thing the blonde did was staring right in the other's vivid green eyes, but said and did nothing until Tony tried to intervene.

"Whoa, keep your horses, Rudolph."

Tony, not content with the whole brother, not-brother scenario, reached out a hand to calm the raging god, but the death glare then shifted to him and those eyes bore right into his very soul. He could have sworn that they were a bright blue the last time he had seen them, before he had flewn right through the window of his tower. But now they shined in the most radiant green Tony had ever seen in his life. One could say they were beautiful, if they weren't owned by a psychopath of course. Or, no they were beautiful nonetheless. Tony was pulled from his thoughts by an angry god staring at him in confusion.

"Don't." The god huffed. "Of all those ignorant mortals, I wouldn't have believed you to actually agree with this covenant!" His voice cracked and sounded almost desperate for support.

"What?"

Tony looked around for answers, only to hear the god in front of him laugh indifferently and turn to sit on his bed again, grooming a hand through his raven black hair and continued to stare directly into the billionaires eyes. His lips turned into a mischivous grin.

"Oh, that team of yours. So delightful to see them luring you into this, without giving you the proper information." The god cocked his head in curiosity. "They seem to find you not trustworthy at all then."

"Stop spitting out venom, brother!"

Thor's voice was filled with anger when addressing Loki, but was calm again when he turned to reassure the completely bewildered inventor.

"Don't listen to my brothers antics, Man of Iron."

"No, no no no no!" Tony burst out, holding up his arms to make his point clear. "What the fuck is he talking about!?"

His raised voice was enough to give Loki another reason to laugh bitterly and shake his head.

"They want you to watch over me, Stark." Loki gnarled and ground his teeth, burrowing his head in his hands, apparently just as frustrated with this situation as Tony himself. It was more like a shock state he found himself in. Shock. That described it very well.

"WHAT!?" Tony screamed after clearing his head from the daze and turned on his heels, shoving his finger into Fury's face.

"You know I wouldn't ever, like in my whole life, never ever agree to this shit, right?!"

The engineer started laughing hysterically, shaking his head.

"This is bullshit, I'm out of here."

He stated and was about to stomp out of the room. This was a new low, even for Fury. An amused chuckle was heard from the other side of the room, followed by a whisper.

"Wouldn't have thought we actually have something in common, Stark."

Fury seemed to ignore the fallen god and the engineer's tantrum completely. The man only rolled his eyes before he stopped Tony in his tracks.

"Of course, Stark." The answer came in a calm, bored voice. "That's why I made you remember your little lapse from a while ago. And yes, if you want to, call it blackmailing."

Fury said, a smug smile playing on his lips. Whereas Tony only groaned in consternation. Of course his day had to get ruined by something. It had started too great, his luck couldn't have lasted throughout the whole day, he had knows as soon as Fury was on the line. Eye patch always brought misery into his life. Fury didn't ask anybody to just come by and have a tea party.

"So now I have to play the babysitter? I remember you always saying I needed one myself." Tony spat incredulously.

"And now I should look over the fucking god of mischief. Yeah right, good idea. I enjoy living with megalomaniacs, especially when they'll make world domination plans. My favorite hobby of all times." He grinned and voice finally lacking none of his usual sarcasm.

"As a matter of fact, Friend..." Thor interrupted. "My brother is currently not in possession of his magic, and won't be until the All-Father decides that he has learned enough from you." He chirped too convenient.

Tony exchanged glances with the raven haired god. That guy was watching him too intensively, it made his skin crawl under the gaze. Fuck, even without powers he was intimidating. The engineer swallowed and faced Thor once more.

"Even if that's true and he really doesn't have his mojo anymore, I don't want him around me when I sleep. I'm not too keen about getting stabbed to death."

Loki snorted at that.

"I assure you that feeling is mutual, Stark."

The god folded his arms and stood, making it obvious that he also wasn't eager to follow the mortal home.

"So if that's everything, then it's settled."

Fury was already moving to the door, not showing the slightest inclination of listening to Tony's rant. He just ignored everything said and wanted to go.

"Don't you dare leaving now." Tony was about to follow the man, but he was abruptly stopped, when Fury turned, his attention once more focused on the engineer.

"It was decided long ago, Stark. You owed me, now you'll return the favor."

The man's voice lacked no determination. There was no possibility for Tony backing out of this one.

"And in case you want to do anything funny, because..." He still wore that smug face. "... we all know you'd do that, I contacted Ms. Potts to make sure that Loki here will make it to your residence."

Tony's mouth dropped at that. Not Pepper. That damn bastard had the guts to drag her into this. So this was hopeless after all. With Pepper on the case, he couldn't just drop Loki off somewhere in the desert. He had to cope with the idea that the crazy ass god will live in his home for now. Fuck Fury and his blackmailing. Fuck those crazy Asgardian gods for invading their planet. Fuck everything.

The small group around Fury left long before Tony's inner monologue was finished. He felt a headache forming and rubbed the temple of his nose, trying to get the pain under control. The Captain, all this time silent like the good soldier he was, clapped him on the shoulder, offering a reassuring smile and walked through the door. Hell was he productive and helping today.

When he turned to the two gods behind him, Tony couldn't help but frown at the sight. Thor held Loki by his upper arm, manhandling him like a child. He really couldn't stand the Loki, sure, but he could understand why he didn't want to be around his brother altogether. Thor all glory and pride, the favorite child, getting all of their father's attention. Loki was the black sheep. Tony definitely could relate to that. And now, with Loki having not even have his powers anymore, he was also inferior in these premises. One could see the humiliation on the gods face as he was yanked forward, shoved nearly into Tony.

"I can walk by myself!" Loki spat, straightening his linen clothes and stalking right through the door, leaving both men alone.

"He sure has some temper issues."

The engineer said, making a face. Thor, now beside him, eying his raging brother carefully.

"Give him some time. I know, it might be hard to see through his mask, but I know him since our childhood. He has a good, a generous side within him." He almost pleaded with those damn, big blue puppy eyes. "Give him a chance."

With that Thor left the room, giving Tony no choice but to follow and gulp down the insult he wanted to throw at the god's face.

* * *

A helicopter carried the two men to the ground, where Pepper and Hogan already waited for them to arrive. Both had been silent for the whole flight, visibly uncomfortable with the situation they found themselves in. Pepper came over and closed the distance between them, giving Tony a small welcome hug and held out a hand for the god to shake.

"Loki."

Her voice addressed the god, face not impressed at all and Tony was baffled when Loki gratefully took her hand in his, showing all his good manors. No childlike gestures or swears, it appeared the god had resigned to his punishment and tried to appear in a good light, making his stay as pleasant as possible. Or he was up to something to annoy Tony. Yeah definitely the later.

"Miss Potts, it's a pleasure we finally meet, after all the good things Stark told me about you."

The words in Pepper's mouth died down and she choked a little, as if she also hadn't been prepared for this change in personality. The fact that Loki was able to pull that off, irked him more and more. This bastard would never be genuinely friendly if there wasn't something he could use for his benefit. But apparently Pepper didn't seem to mind it as much as Tony did, which annoyed him even more. She shot the god a confident smile, before facing Tony again.

"You didn't tell me that he is such a charming guy. You could follow his example Anthony."

She nodded and moved into the front seat of the car. Tony decided to stand there and death glare at her for this remark. Loki had his eyes closed and a pleased grin on his lips, knowing all too well how to seduce women and their longing for compliments. Tony just shook his head before he gestured to the car, letting Loki get in first.

* * *

The whole long ride to the Stark Tower was coined by small talk. Tony tried his best to blank out this scene. Loki right beside him, talking to his ex-girlfriend as if they were some old school friends. Odd to say the least. Fraternizing with the enemy. That's what it was. Maybe she did it to bug him or something. The thought made him pout like a child, staring out of the window, answering with "Hmm..."s and "Whatever..."s whenever he was asked something.

When they finally made their way to the tower, and Pepper said her goodbye to Hogan, they took the elevator to the highest floor. No one dared to say a thing. It was silent when the door finally opened. Much to Tony's relief. The talking had been worse than any awkward silence. The engineer stormed out and made his way over to the staircase. The only thing he wanted was to bury himself in his workshop. Not dealing with anymore crap anymore, especially when Pepper had decided to change sides. Before he could reach the stairs, the woman spoke up, her voice piercing through him, making him listen.

"Before you take off, blindly doing all sort of things down there..." she started and Tony stopped dead on the spot. "You will show our _guest_ around. And you will have to get him some things, like clothes, for example. I don't have time unfortunately, since one of us has to lead a company."

He felt her eyes on the back of his head. He mumbled something in his beard, cursed under his breath and forced himself to turn around. His face expressing only one thing. To leave him the fuck alone. How coud she even think him wanting in the slightest to go shopping with this psychopath. Really, the thing was that she did not care for his protest at all.

"I didn't quite catch that Anthony."

"Fine!"

Tony snapped and threw his hands up in defeat. Pepper sighed, satisfied with the way she handled the eccentric billionaire, and shook Loki's hand again.

"We will see each other again soon, Mr. Laufeyson."

Loki seemed pleased with her using his correct surname, smiling and shaking her hand in return.

"Jarvis."

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

Tony laughed at the gods reaction, when the AI's voice sounded through the room. Clearly not used to the technology of this world yet. Fortunately for him. He would definitely exploid this to the full extend.

"What is this magic?" Loki said, startled.

"This is Jarvis, the artificial intelligence Tony programmed into the tower and all other devices he uses. He is quasi the host of this house." Pepper stepped into the elevator and pushed a button.

"Jarvis will make sure that Tony will meet his obligations. Right, Jarvis?" She smiled at them. Especially focusing on Tony, who grimaced in return.

"Of course, Ms. Potts."

"Ah and before I forget. Please don't kill each other. I hate going on job hunt."

With that the doors closed by themselves, leaving the two men alone in the huge penthouse.

As soon as he got the confirmation that Pepper really was gone, Tony straightway turned to leave, but was held up by the familiar british accent.

"Mr. Stark, please remind yourself that you own your guest a walkabout."

Tony rolled his eyes and turned on his heels. Again. Apparently he wasn't going to be left alone.

"Yeah, well. Of course we wouldn't want the famous god of mischief to get lost, would we."

Sarcasm leaking from his voice. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gestured for Loki to follow, who actually followed without any objections, taking in his surroundings and the richness of the furnishing. You could say about Tony Stark what you want, but he sure knew how to live. They started in the living room, kitchen right attached to it, and stopped in a corridor with a few doors leading to different rooms.

"This." Tony pointed at the last door of said corridor. "Is my bedroom. You will never, ever go near that door, do you understand me?"

He forced the words out of his mouth, making sure that the god understood it right away. Loki only grunted in annoyance.

"Why should I even attend to visit you, Stark?" The arrogance visible on the gods features went right on Tony's nerves.

"Good princess, then we are clear."

A nod. They went a few steps, and stopped by the door on the left, right next to Tony's bedroom.

"This is the guest room. Well, at least one of them on this floor. It's your room for now."

A artificial smile and a cocked head was enough to let Tony continue his speech.

"Pepper made it clear that you shouldn't be out of sight and actually, I agree with her on this. So..." he opened the door to a spacious room, neatly furnished, with a bordering bath. "Make yourself comfortable."

Tony pressed out. Both of them knowing that this was not nowhere near genuine and Tony left it at this. He wanted the god to feel how unwelcome he was. The engineer spun around to leave, but suddenly remembering something important.

"Jarvis, make sure that our... _guest_ doesn't leave the tower and that he doesn't have access to anything despite his room and the living room."

"Already done, Sir." the AI complied.

He gazed back at the god who looked a bit lost.

"You don't touch my stuff, you don't break my stuff and you won't hurt anybody. Conditions of you staying here."

Loki smirked to himself.

"Should I care for your narrowed rules, mortal?"

Tony eyed the god, still very much unimpressed by his behavior.

"Why do you make so much effort telling people you don't fucking care, if you really don't give a fuck? Doesn't make sense."

With this rhetorical question, Tony left the now bewildered god alone.

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_Please review =)_


	4. Chapter 4: Nighttime Thoughts

_A/N: Hey, sorry this one took me a bit longer_._ Had to work this week. So, yeah I really hope you'll like this chapter.  
Warning here for torture._

_Edit: rewrote this chapter._

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**Chapter 4: Nighttime Thoughts**

Loki stood on the exact same spot for a few minutes after Tony had left. He was astonished by the man's irreverence towards him. That puny mortal dared to impose rules on him, the god of mischief himself. Something only the most brave, or stupid in this case, dared to do.

He kept staring at the now closed-door, unable to cope with the words the man had thrown at him. The god sighed, furrowing his brows, a now desperate look graced his slender face, dropping his usual mask of indifference. How could this human see right through him so easily. This whole ordeal was humiliating. It was below him to get imprisoned by a mere mortal, who couldn't even grasp the weight of his actions. Stark was different than others, yes, but still very annoying. A nuisance, nothing more.

Suddenly Loki stumbled back until his knees hit the bed and he sat down ungracefully. He was feeling dizzy, his head throobed with anger and pain. This was ridiculous. All of this. Him being here in the very tower he used for his invasion. With the man he threw out of his own window. And now he should play nice and easy, so Odin and Thor didn't have to bother with his presence anymore. And Odin made it perfectly clear to him that he couldn't stand Loki dragging his name through the mud any longer.

Yet still, after all the punishment he had to endure until now, this had been the worst. Loki ground his teeth, thinking about how this was supposed to work out. It certainly wasn't in his opinion. He couldn't live with this man. It wasn't even that he hated him, he never had. They simply were on different sides. And Loki had always seen the talent and wit within Anthony Stark, a reason why he tried to pull him over his side back in the Stark Tower.

But the mans flaws irritated him to no extend. How he portrayed himself, content, arrogant even, feeling superior to the ones around him; how he spoke, always this ambiguity and cynicism on his words, never speaking clearly what was on his mind. Loki couldn't read him and it bugged the hell out of him. It was then he realized that he wasn't so different from the man in this regard. And he didn't like it.

Stark had something intriguing about him, but Loki couldn't quite point his fingers on what it was. But it was clear that two similar personalities colliding wouldn't end good for either of them. And the signs already showed. Tony didn't want him here. Hel, he didn't want to be here either. But the hatred the man displayed was overwhelming. Of course he hand't expected to be welcome here. Even if the assistant wasn't as hostile, the woman was of no concern to him. If he wanted to survive this, he had to stay on Stark's good side and his only. Which he doubted was possible, even if he tried with genuine effort, what his pride would prevent him from doing anyway.

Loki laughed bitterly and ran a hand through his shoulder long hair. They had grown over the months he had been imprisoned. He rubbed his eyes, covering them with his hands and remained like this for a good ten minutes. He was tired, worn out and he felt every bone in his now mortal body. The physical and psychological exertions had left their marks on him. And without his powers they would not heal fast. The wounds hurt like they never had before.

Never had he imagined how harsh the All-Father would enforced his punishment. But all of the Aesir had seemed to be positive that the torture he had to endure was justified and that they would break the bad seed of the family, freeing him from the mischief deep within him, bringing him back to where he belonged in their eyes... But they were wrong. They always were. No one listened, understood or even tried.

Loki pulled his legs towards himself and buried his face in his arms. Memories flashed behind his eyes. Memories he wanted to forget. Of pain, broken trust and betrayal. The pain was the thing that stung the most, that was what he told himself anyway. Trust was a luxury he hadn't experienced in years. He never doubted that no one liked him, the prankster, the troublemaker. But he had never thought that they had hated him so much.

* * *

When Loki had been brought back to Asgard after his failed cooperation with the Chitauri, he had been greeted with the most humiliating sight. They all had gathered on the big court, right behind the rainbow bridge, making not one sound, only looking down on him with their shame and pity distorted faces, when he had been dragged to the dungeons.

He had sat there, for days, no water, no food, in total darkness, before the Einherjer had made their first visit. They had beaten him until his face had been covered in blood, but he had just laughed at them and their ludicrous effort of breaking him. After this they had come every day. Whippings, strangulation, snapping bones until there had been nothing left to break, twisting his limps until he screamed in agony, but still he had insulted them for their imbecility.

Loki had recovered fast, even from the severe injuries and always had a smug smile on his lips, when they had come back after a few days of letting him rest. He had sneered at them, let his silver tongue do all the work for him. But this time had been different. They had been completely silent before they had grabbed him by his arms and held him down. The third one had been barely an inch from Loki's face holding a needle up for him to see.

He had spoken in a voice that had shook him to the core. He would learn to hold the tongue of his. And when Loki had realized what they had wanted to do, he had struggled, but it had been to no avail. Vicious hands had gripped his wrists and held him to the ground, another one too tight on his throat, making it hard for him to breath properly.

When there had been no reaction from the men above him, he had screamed, pleaded for mercy, tears had started running down his face when the needle had pierced through his bottom lip the first time. He had squint his eyes shut, stinging pain rushing through his entire body. His screams of pain had echoed in the halls, until there was silence again.

When he had waken from his consciousness, the blood had still run down his chin, dripping on the cold floor, already forming a filthy puddle. He had tried to open his mouth, only to cry out in pain and shutting it almost instantly again. The threat they had used was of no ordinary material. They had got it from the dwarves. It had been the same material that had bound Fenrir back in the days. Silky and soft. It kept his magic from closing and healing the holes in his lips, burning its way through his flesh. Every time he had touched them they had tightened even more around his bruised lips, making them start to bleed again.

This had gone on for weeks, until he had become anxious and defeated, disgusted with himself and his weakness. Not another word had he spoken when they had come to bring him water, not even to Frigga, the only one that had seemed to care. It had hurt him to see her tremble for her child, but he hadn't been able to do anything to change that.

* * *

Loki unconsciously reached for his lips and hissed in pain at the memories. He hated crying. It was a weakness and gave others opportunity to belittle him even more. Even now, with no one around, alone under this man's roof, away from the pain, betrayal and lies of Asgard, he couldn't allow himself to cry.

He caught himself clawing at the sheets beneath him. They were smooth and clean. It had to be of some kind of silk, comfortable, couldn't be compared to the cell he knew from Asgard. Loki lay down on the bed, curled into a ball and for the first time in months, he was able to let himself fall asleep without fearing that anyone would harm him.

* * *

Tony had withdrawn into his workshop, wanted to forget this disastrous day. To forget that the god of mischief most likely slept now in his guest room on his personal penthouse floor. The thought alone made him uncomfortable. Why of all people did he have to babysit tat crazy ass god. His good mood from earlier was gone, so he buried himself in work. The engineer did what he could best, create things.

For some time now he worked on a lighter version of the suit, the MARK VIII wasn't build for speed and it was deficient in fast reaction times, which bugged Tony so much that he tried to find a method to combine peak reaction times and mobility with sturdiness. But so far, he hadn't made considerable progress, so Tony's morale had absolutely plummeted. It wasn't often that he tread water in terms of engineering and it made this whole day a lot worse. Not only that this maniac blocked his penthouse, it appeared that everything didn't go as planned anymore.

So Tony sat in his chair, head supported by his hand, glaring over to one of his repulsors and moaning in annoyance. He took a sip from his glass, filled with expensive whiskey, only to notice that it was already empty again. The engineer closed his eyes and huffed a laugh, before reaching out for the bottle next to him to refill it. For a brief moment, Tony just stared at the bottle, which was also half empty and only then realized that his vision had already gone from clear to blurry. He shrugged the fact off that he had already drunken too much for his own good and refilled his glass once more, admitting to himself that he wasn't going anywhere with his project and chugged the liquid. After a while he stood, restless and frustrated with everything. He discarded the glass, took the bottle instead and paced the room. Normally he distracted himself with immersing in his work, but since this was out of question, he couldn't help but think.

This day had gone from awesome to fucked in about an hour. And it wouldn't just end. Nobody had told him for how long he should harbor the chaos god in his home. Sure, the sooner Thor would drag his brother's ass home, the better. Tony sighed and took another sip from the bottle.

He still didn't get why they had chosen him from all the people Shield could have in store for a situation like his. It was completely odd. Irrational and contradictory. Why Fury didn't want to contain Loki in some kind of prison, or send him to trial or execute him was beyond his understanding. The man definitely planned something involving the mand god, but Tony couldn't point his finger on it. The only thing he knew for sure that he would figure it out in time. Fury wouldn't let Loki run around unsupervised, even without his powers and that fact alone made Tony suspicious. Seeing that Shields security systems were built after a model of Stark Industries', it would be an easy task to hack into it. Again.

Come to think of it. Loki was uncharacteristically easy to deal with this whole time. Sure he gave snark replies, but that was about it. His eyes was another thing that had confused him. The last time he had seen him they had been a shiny blue, icy, piercing, but today they were a brilliant green, even when they were tired and exhausted, his gaze were mesmerizing and Tony had trouble looking away from the man when he had seen him sitting on that bed.

Tony stared wide eyed into the blue, mentally kicking himself for thinking about that damn bastard in this way. He flung the almost empty bottle into the bin. Yes, definitely enough alcohol within his bloodstream tonight. Tony threw one last gaze over his shoulder onto the unfinished repulsor, lying next to the framed ark reactor on the bench. He hated not completing things, so he reached into his pocket and got his phone out.

"Jarvis."

"Yes Sir." the AI replied.

"What time is it?" The engineer searched for the right number.

"It's exactly 11:21 pm Sir."

"Ah... Too early to go to bed just yet, isn't it."

"Not really, Sir."

Tony muttered his discontent about the AI's constant contradictions and dialed a number. He really shouldn't have programmed Jarvis with an attitude like this, always spoiling the fun. He heard the free line signal and waited.

"Wer zum Teufel!"

Silence. Tony couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Good evening sweetheart, I told you not to swear in foreign languages."

A deep sigh came from the line.

"What do you want Stark."

Tony knew it was not really a question, but more of a threat. So he decided to tease her just a little.

"I was working and suddenly I wanted to hear your beautiful voice." Tony chirped playfully. He could hear the woman on the other end swear silently, which made him smile in victory.

"You know what time it is here, right?"

Annoyance clear in the voice. Tony tried to contain his laughter and sound convincing.

"What? No I totally forgot the timezone! Sorry dear."

A sneer.

"As if, Stark."

"Are we back to surnames now? I thought we were past that." The man started to pace the room once more.

"We certainly aren't when you call me.." A pause followed before she raised her voice. "...at fucking five in the morning, you bastard!"

Tony held the phone away from his ear.

"So what do you want?! And I really hope this is important."

He sighed and sat down on his chair again, eying the unfinished machines.

"It is." He confirmed. "I really had a rough day, you know..."

The man continued to hum and haw for a few minutes, before the voice on the phone moaned in frustration, making Tony come to the point.

"Actually I need some information about that chip." No answer was given. "You know the thing you develop in competition with the super soldier Extremis formula thing from Futurepharm?" Tony kept pushing.

"I know what you're talking about..." She hissed. "And yet I ask myself why you'd need additional information."

He could basically hear her rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm about to decrease the reaction time of the suit, but I fear that it's an impossible task. With a link between suit and mind I could..."

"You can't do anything." She interrupted. "It is none of your business, still in early Alpha stage and definitely not meant for you improving your suit. Too dangerous to test and I wont ever give one to you. You are irresponsible."

Anger lingered in those words and Tony grimaced, taking his screwdriver and balancing it on his finger. A smile formed on his lips when an idea hit him. He knew how to make her give in.

"I could always call Maya, you know."

The woman on the line let out a disgusted groan.

"Yeah you should do that then." The woman almost growled through the phone. "Remember to tell her that ..." She caught herself before swearing, "...she is second class. It hurts my brain even to thing of her in the same field as myself..."

Touchy.

"Uhh...Hyperbolism much?"

Tony cocked an eyebrow at that reaction. He had known that she didn't like Hansen, but this seemed like pure hatred.

"Despite that she really is a joke, she will say the same thing as me, but sure go ahead and visit your precious. As I see it, we can clip the cooperation between West Tech and Stark Industries then?" She said in a feigned kind tone.

Tony sat the screwdriver aside and rolled his eyes. This woman didn't had any sense of humor.

"Ah, come on I didn't mean it like that, just wanted to check on it, since I am stuck here with no progress and am devastated because of this and..."There still was no reaction from the other. "Ow, Cell don't be like that. Please? Help me out here?" He heard himself slur the last part.

"Yeah and you're drunk, nice. Not that there is a moment when you're not, apparently..."

"Please, Cell, Celia, Honey?"

Tony leaned back in the chair and stared to the ceiling. He knew that it wouldn't take much effort to tickle more information out of her. She was tired and desperate for this conversion to end, so she would comply soon.

"It's going well."

Tony turned his attention back to her.

"How well?"

"Well enough. Really Tony, I can't tell you more than that. It's not ready for testing yet, but it will be in the future. We can talk about that when I'm back in the US..."

A stiffed yawn was heard and Tony chuckled.

"When is that?"

"Soon, a few weeks at the most. Got some things to test in here, before I can go and have fun again... Before you ask, biological stuff, fighting cancer and all that. Nothing important for you, so don't break a sweat..."

This conversation really did lift Tony's mood after all.

"So we have a deal then? Could you bring a prototype?"

"No. I cannot." Was the answer. "Buy me dinner and we can talk."

What was it with this woman and food, he'll never know. But sure, whatever got her to talk.

"Sure darling, now go back to sleep, you shouldn't interrupt the slow-wave sleep phase." He snickered. "Nighty night."

After a huff, the line dropped and Tony pushed his phone back into his pocket. Now he had to yawn, too. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to go bed early today.

"Jarvis, close down, will ya." He spoke to the AI, before making his way out towards the stairs.

"Of course, Sir."

With that the lights went out and and the safety lights on. Tony wandered towards his bedroom, mind only on one topic now. He was exited for the progress on the Nanochip, they had worked countless hours on it until now and it would distract him from the god of mischief and those damn green eyes. And there were the thoughts again. He rolled his eyes and slapped himself mentally, for the second time today. It really was time to go to bed.

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_Please review =)_


	5. Chapter 5: Public Relations

_A/N: Hello there, the fifth(former sixth) chapter is here! Longer and with more...drama? Well yeah. I promise you there will be fluff and smut in later chapters, I have already written out the ideas and all that, so ya stay tuned =) And if you like the story, please review, reviews really make me happy *heart* www . fileden files/2011/6/13/3151777/chapter6 . png  
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**Chapter 6: Public Relations**

When Tony woke in his bed the next morning, he felt like crap. His head throbbed and was about to explode. He really shouldn't have drunk the whole bottle of that expensive whiskey last night. Now his brain decided to pay him back.

Tony ran a hand through his ruffled hair when he sat up, they were always messy in the morning, and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. A yawn and a stretch later he was finally able to leave his bed and went for a shower. He definitely needed to refresh his mind after the previous day. And he needed caffeine. Preferably through an intravenous injection. He stepped into the stall and turned the hot water on. The hot stream ran over his aching head , making the pain a bit more bearable.

After almost twenty minutes of just standing under the water, a voice turned over the speakers, catching Tony's attention.

"I regret to interrupt your shower, Sir, but I thought it would be beneficial to let you know, that Mr. Odinson just arrived in the living room."

Tony's head snapped at this.

"The blonde or the black one?" He turned of the water, stepped outside, tied a towel around his waist and moved to his closet.

"Mr. Odinson is here, Mr. Laufeyson is still in his room."

He shrugged at the names, buttoned up his Jeans and got a Black Sabbath sweatshirt from the drawer. He noticed it was the same shirt he had worn when Loki had thrown him out of the window. That damn bastard was back in his head again. Damn him. But still, Thor was here now and Tony would make sure to show just how much he hated this situation. He threw the shirt into the drawer again and chose another one, Pink Floyd it was, and pulled it over his head.

"On my way Jarvis."

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His hair was still dripping when he came into the kitchen. Thor was sitting on one of the bar stools and ate, what Tony recognized as toast, even when it was almost completely burned, and flashed a smile at Tony as soon as he was in sight.

"Man of Iron!" the god spoke with his mouth full of food. "I wish you a good morning."

While darting a glance to his uninvited guest, Tony walked straight to the fully automatic coffee machine and pressed a few of the buttons.

"Well, big guy, not such a good morning for me, since you unloaded your brother at my place."

He looked down at the coffee pouring out of the automate, added a bit of sugar and went to sit across his fellow avenger. The annoyed look Tony gave the man was more than enough to make him shudder under the gaze.

"You know a bit of a warning would have been nice..."

He put more venom into his voice than he intended to and took a sip his coffee and looked at his watch. Half past nine. Too early. Thor frowned when he finished the last bit of his burned toast.

"Is he causing you trouble, my friend?"

You could see the despair in the gods features and he immediately regretted ever opening his mouth. Tony Stark wasn't bearable without coffee, he knew that, but it was surely the gods fault to visit so early in the morning. Tony nearly missed half of what Thor said, before he could focus on the other again.

"Yeah well. Except for him being the arrogant shithead he is, no, not yet. But even knowing that he's here pisses me off."

His cup was already empty, so he stood and went for another one. Thor pushed the plate aside and looked suddenly more exhausted and older than Tony remembered him to be. It sure was hard to take the blame for whatever your brother did. He understood, but didn't care enough to spare the god of his sarcasm.

"I am sorry for placing this burden on you, son of Stark, but I couldn't reckon a place more safe for him than within these walls." The blonde pressed out, head in his hands.

And all of a sudden Tony felt sorry for him. He rolled his eyes and sat back down on the kitchen counter, eying the seemingly hapless god. When he thought about it, it was the most logical choice. After what Loki head done to Half New York, Stuttgart, it really wasn't safe for him to just wander the streets. The people would rather lynch him their selves than hear him out, or even give him a second chance. Not that Tony thought that the maniac deserved on, but still.

So Tony only nodded and emptied the second cup of coffee when he noticed that Thor scanned his surroundings. The engineer raised an eyebrow in question and got up to stand by the other man. Confusion now lingered in his words.

"You looking for something?"

A sigh. The god really looked worn out.

"Where is my brother?" Tony shrugged at this.

Not that he cared, he was glad that Loki seemed to avoid company. He was yanked from his thoughts when he was faced by Thor's grieving face. How could a grown man give him such a hangdog look.

"Jarvis."

"Sir?"

Tony wondered how long this god of thunder would actually take to understand that Jarvis wasn't an actual person. It amused him to no extend as Thor tried to spot the source of the voice.

"What does our guest do at the moment?" he leaned against the counter and watched the god looking around in fascination.

"He appears to be on his bed." Tony gave him a smug smile. "See? Everything is just fine." Sarcasm. Tony turned to leave and winked at the blonde.

Normally Thor wasn't the smartest, but even he got the drift.

"Is there something I can assist you with, then?" It was a poor attempt to soothe the mans anger. Tony turned on his heels with a laugh.

"You could take him home?" Eager for a reply. Thor then looked down and wrinkled his forehead.

"No, I am afraid I cannot act against the All-Fathers wish."

"I thought so." he replied sternly. "How should this even work? Pepper tells me to take him out, but really? This is gonna destroy my reputation and the people out there would eat him alive."

He gestured with his hands in the air. Really he wanted that answer, he wanted to know how they thought this to pass off smoothly.

"Even with the best PR, and hey I could effort that, it would take months to get the image of Loki the maniac out of their heads. But hey, who cares, if he fucks things up, you can just go back to your planet and the blame falls to me. Nicely planned."

Taking a sip, he continued.

"So, let's see how long we can keep the news from the paparazzi." He sighed.

Thor was stunned by the man's rant. There wasn't apparently something he could say or do to please the human in this state, so he decided on being quite instead. It was the best thing he could do, but it enraged the man even more. Tony growled under his teeth and moved back to the fridge, gripping a cold bottle and poured the content into a fresh glass. He didn't even care for the brand of the alcohol, the main point was to get drunk as soon as possible.

Tony normally wasn't the one to hold a grudge, especially when it includes certain powerful gods from another realm, but this time he was pissed. At Fury, Thor and his all so mighty father and he noticed that he wasn't even mad at Loki, because he didn't even want to be here either, but was dragged down here to keep company with Tony, which was considered a torture or punishment. Gods indeed behave like bilgesnipe, subtle and polite his ass.

Thor stood all dressed up and with nowhere to go, until Tony offered him a glass of scotch, he had checked what he actually downed, which the god accepted eagerly. There was an awkward silence between them until the AI disrupted the scene.

"Sir, I'll let you know, that agent Barton and agent Romanov are standing in the lobby and demand access to this area. Should I send them away?"

The engineer tsked and face palmed. These were the last people he wanted to see now, because he knew that they knew, that he, Tony Stark hosted a serial killer, which the hawk wanted to impale with his arrows rather sooner than later. He could have seen that one coming, Fury turned everything he touched into shit, so of course he would have told his assassins. Tony laughed bitterly and wanted to just go to bed again. Why did he leave his bed this morning anyway?

"As much as I love this option, Jarvis, I doubt they let me alone until they have it their way. Bring 'em up."

The AI complied instantly, granting them access to the elevator, letting the two avengers enter the penthouse. As soon as the distinctive beep of the elevator sounded, one could feel the air thicken with bottled-up hatred, when Clint Barton stomped towards the two men, with a low growl in his throat.

"Where is he!?"

Natasha stood behind him, with crossed arms and one eyebrow raised, shooting them a peeved look. The assassins were seething with rage. After all that had happened to them because of Loki, nobody could blame them for not wanting him anywhere nearby. Especially Tony himself shared their opinion on that matter and he really wasn't up for a fight with those bullheads, so he decided to resist the urge to mock those two with his usual sarcasm.

Quickly filling a glass with the expensive scotch, he handed it over to the male, who was dangerously close, too close, to his face. Uncomfortably taking a few steps back to restore his personal space again, he spoke.

"I don't know whom you talk about, but you need to calm down."

Playing dumb was one of the emotions he was able to act out perfectly. Having to talk to bothersome reporters and newspapers made every man creative with their responses.

While Barton took the glass and chugged it, a glance bored into Tony from behind him. The widow stalked to the engineer, trapping him between herself and the kitchen counter. She was intimidating, her blue eyes fierce and Tony wanted to avoid breathing at this moment to just survive. He couldn't trick her, a spy who does nothing but interrogate and manipulate to get her ways, to believe that he hadn't something to hide.

"Don't lie to me, Stark." she hissed and slammed the newspaper on the surface right next to him.

Her look was one of a predator, and he felt like her prey, didn't even dare to look at the item to his left, until she shot him another look, making him hesitantly grabbing the thing in question.

"Read." The command was clear.

Tony made a resigned face when he spotted the headline. _Shield press conference reveals the terrorist Loki's hideout. _Thor had by this time moved to Tony's side to get a glimpse of the paper and almost immediately looked disheartened. The god seemingly had a hard time coping with all the hate for his brother and that headline wouldn't make it any better for him.

When he looked up, he found both assassins glaring daggers at him, before Barton pushed his companion aside and pointed a finger at him.

"How could you agree with this shit? You harbor the psycho maniac who destroyed New York and tried to conquer the world and you cover for him?!"

Looking down on the slightly smaller man, his face red with anger, Tony frowned, rolled his eyes and growled at him in return.

"You really believe I want him here? I was dragged into this by Fury blackmailing the shit out of me. If I had a choice I would park this fuck of a god in the antarctic." The snapped at them with annoyance in his words, shutting them up.

"At least I know now that I don't have to deal with the press in explaining this shit hole and how you two were informed about this." A spiteful smile graced Tony's lips when he looked back at the assassins.

"I thought that Fury would have told you, but apparently the had other plans."

Natasha tried to ignore the snippy remark, but couldn't help to grimace at this. It was always a thing with the director, since he was a master spy himself, he often kept valued information to himself.

"It is on every channel." she pressed out eventually, making Tony eye her in tenseness for a few seconds, before he ordered Jarvis to switch the TV on. And it was on every channel.

The group watched in silence, when Fury's voice spoke out against the huge crowd of journalists. The director told them what he already told Tony the day before, Loki would be _imprisoned_ in Stark Tower, supervised by the Avengers and would try to rehabilitate into society. Of course the crush of people screamed and yelled in repulse. It was clear that no one wanted to trust the man's word, but Fury kept on talking for as long as not one reporter dared to question him any longer. Tony never doubted the man to be skilled with speeches, although he had never expected Fury to actually pull off a conference. So PR was checked off the list, he thought to himself. The Hawkeye's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he turned his head to face the man.

"So..." Barton smiled with genuine hostility, "Where is he?"

That smile send shivers down Tony's spine and he knew that the assassin had an open score to settle with the god, so he sent a troubled look Thor's way, who gratefully understood the concern in the others eyes. It was not that Tony was worried for the raven haired god, but he didn't want him to get killed, either.  
Stepping forward to block the entrance to the corridor to Loki's room, Thor raised his arms and spoke with warning calmness.

"Eye of hawk, I know that my brother has caused you great despair, but please refrain from seeking revenge from him in this state. His mind was blinded with frenzy, he was not aware of what he did."

Barton bared his teeth to snarl. "Yeah, keep telling yourself this."

In an instant he was evading Thor's grip and made his way to the doors, pushed them open, checking each of them for his foe, until he reached his destination, finding a flustered and now frantic god on his bed, slamming him into the next wall. An elbow was pushed on Loki's throat, preventing him from breathing properly and letting him hiss in pain. Hands came up to pull at the intruder, tried to avert him from suffocating, but it was useless, the assassin's hold was like an iron grip on his target.

Loki could see the hate in those blue eyes. The determination to kill the one who made him suffer was obvious and he struggled, trying to free himself from the man, clawing on the arm that threatened to crush his throat.

The group now stood within the door frame, watching the situation carefully, but of course weren't about to step in on this. With effort he thought about a snark remark to spit into the mortals face, but a fist found its way into his abdomen the moment any words could have left his mouth.

The impact made the god gasp for air, pain radiating through his whole body, his eyes wide, before he sank down the wall and crouched on the floor, really trying his hardest not to throw up. Loki's gaze was hazy, he didn't even have the chance to cover himself, before the next blow hit his head with such a force that made him almost pass out on the spot. This mortal body was useless for him, the weakness of it wasn't bearable. He raised his head to look at the man above him in distress, glaring at him with one hand on his own head in an attempt to ease the ache.

"Who is the mewling quim now, skunk?"

The arrogance in the assassin's face was quickly changed to a more alarmed one, when he met the eyes of the god beneath him. The mischievous trademark smile had returned to Loki's lips and before Barton knew what hit him, the god had grabbed his ankle and twisted it to the breaking point, sending the man to the ground. In the second when his body made contact with the surface, Loki straddled the smaller man, distorting his arm behind his back, drawing whimpers of pain from him.

"Your pride always gets the best of you, mortals." Barton yelled out under the torture.

"You could have easily walked away from this." grinning, Loki twisted the wrist a bit further. "But no. I will reduce you to the tiny creature you are, begging to a god to spare his pitiful life."

A crack was heard, as well as a cry of agony and the next thing Loki knew was that someone yanked him off the body. Thor had him in his grip, staring down at him, clearly looking offended by his brother's behavior. Instead on giving him his attention, Loki ignored the eye beam he was given, rubbed a hand over his temple and fixed his gaze on Stark, who was still standing at the door frame, trying to stifle his laughter. The sight made the corner of his mouth twitch in imitated amusement, until the moment he forced his gaze upon the mortals on the floor, where the Widow helped the wounded man stand up, and his face returned to the normal mask of indifference.

If looks could kill, Loki would be a dead man. The Widow inspected the hurt arm of her companion, who hissed at each touch and glared daggers at him.

"I really should have brought my bow and shot an arrow through your damn head as soon as I had the chance." He growled even louder when he heard the trickster laugh.

This may be the first genuine expression they saw him displaying, except for the pain from the punch in guts. The laughter turned into a chuckle.

"You really thought it would be easy to subdue a god? Even without my magic, it would be a simple matter for me to turn your insides out, pig."

His voice was uneven, contorted with the pain of his abdomen and the struggle against his brother's firm grasp, still the hostility and warning was audible enough to let Natasha lead the man to the exit of the room. Despite her retreat she turned to Tony one last time.

"If anything happens while his stay here, I personally will make you responsible for it, got it?" She exchanged looks with Thor, who still had his brother's arm in a painful grip, before she nodded at Tony.

"We will move to our quarters at the carrier, I think it isn't for the best to let those two stay anywhere near each other." She gestured at Loki, "Get him under control. Or I will do that for you." before she took hold of the hawk and dragged him out of the room.

It seemed that no one had any objections to this. To keep the Avengers separated from the mad god was the best Tony could think of, at least for the time being, until anyone had accustomed with the thought of Thor's little brother living in the tower.

The thunderer just stood there, watched his fellow avengers leave and turned his attention back at his brother, who sat there on the bed like a child going to face a punishment. If he hadn't known better, Tony would have described his look as pouting. The grip of Thor's hand must have been painful, as the raven haired god grimaced and bit his lip at the contact. The blonde didn't realized until now that he apparently hurt him, quickly letting go, which made Loki withdraw almost instantly from the bed, holding his arm.

"Bilge snipe in the body of a god..." he muttered while he rolled up his sleeves, revealing the bruise from the violation and examining it carefully under the light.

It was the second time for Tony to see the god injured, the first time was when he had met the Hulk, who wiped the floor with him. But since he was mortal now, it took not nearly as much force for someone to actually hurt him. And if this hasn't been Loki here, he might have felt pity for him, coming here without powers and getting punched by Hawkeye on his first day.

Thor had moved towards his brother, tried to reach out for him, but was knocked back instead. The god growled.

"Do not touch me again, or I'll end you!"

Tony, as well as Thor, knew of course that it was an idle threat, yet Thor took a few steps back, giving in to Loki's command and allowing him more space.

"Loki, Brother, I never intended to cause you pain, but you have to control your temper around the humans!"

Frowning, the blonde looked down to his own two hands, remembering, that even without magic, asgardians were superior to their midgardian counterparts.

Absorbed in thought, Thor hadn't noticed that Loki had pulled his linen shirt over his head. The blue mark forming over his brother's stomach, making him avert his gaze. Loki was definitely aware of what he did, every last gesture planned out, manipulating everything and everyone to get the outcome he wanted. Tony always thought of him as a genius in his own terms, and it was obvious why the god showed his injuries around. Showing weakness wasn't normally Loki's style, but it made Thor wince, so it did the trick.

Smug bastard, Tony thought to himself while nodding his head. Loki really was the opposite of his brother. Okay, adopted brother, but still, he was far more lean built than Thor, pale, smooth skin on well-toned muscles, black, silky hair falling over his shoulders...

Tony's trail of thought got interrupted when his gaze moved to the gods lips, where his tongue went out to wet them and turning into a wide smile when emerald eyes locked with his. An involuntary grin crept on the engineer's face, when he mentally kicked himself again. That was all he did these days it seemed. Without breaking the eye contact, Loki opened his mouth to speak, addressing Thor.

"You think this was what I planned for?" He pointed to his head and stomach. "If it wasn't for that prick, I would have evaded all contact with those mortals." His piercing glance shifted to the blonde in front of him.

"I was merely defending myself, or do you want to disavow this, Thor?" The rest was muttered. "You not even dare to look into my eyes?"

A degrading glimpse was thrown Thor's way, before he huffed and sat onto the edge of the bed once more.

"Brother, I saw what happened, but still, please refrain from doing any harm to the mortals from now on."

A soft laugh sounded from the sitting god. "When will you stop proclaiming me as your brother, Thor? I'm growing tired of it."

Thor's gaze was averted to the ground, demoralized by his brother's words and Tony really felt for the big guy, who always tried to care for his little brother, but was rejected every single time.

For the whole time, Tony had been silent, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Okay Ladies, enough drama for today, and it's barely noon, please don't ruin any more of my hours." He tapped the thunder-god on the shoulder, making him turn around and leave the room with him.

Thor paced the living room for a few minutes, almost leaving marks in the carpet, before Tony shoved the god to the couch, making him sit down.

"Come down, big guy. He will be fine."

"But..."

The gods really went on his nerves sometimes. Always making things more complicated. That must be an asgardian thing.. With a sigh, Tony went to the fridge, getting something from the freezer, a plate and a fork and mad his way back to the blonde.

"Here."

Thor looked at him in surprise, but took the plate that was offered and stared at the slice of pie on it.

"Eat it, you know you want it."

With that the went into the corridor again, leaving the god behind, knowing that food always kept this ones thoughts from wandering.

When he reached the door, he knocked, despite it being open, a sheer gesture of politeness, and went inside, finding the god of mischief not where he left him. He stalked through the room, peeked into the bathroom and found him, standing in front of the large mirror, examining his injuries.

Tony tried to not look the god over again, but he couldn't help but notice the bleached out scars on the firm muscles of his back. He didn't want to know where he acquired them, so he shrugged it off and cleared his throat. Loki spun around to face him, confusion masking his features, before it was replaced by amusement. He turned around again and eyed Tony through the mirror.

"To what do I owe the honor of this second visit?"

The slightly shorter man moved towards the god and put the cooling pack he brought with him onto his head.

"I thought you could use this, princess. Nobody should say Tony Stark isn't a great host."

"I see." He chuckled despite the nickname. "Then I have to thank you." The god closed his eyes under the cooling sensation, whereas Tony made his leave.

"Ah and by the way, keep yourself entertained while I work, we don't want to have you bored and stab people in their sleep or something." He threw that sentence over his shoulder and heard a smug laugh from the bathroom, making him smile in return.

The rest of the day went by unspectacularly. Thor had left after a few encouraging words and Tony worked on a new infrasound bomb, instead of decreasing the reaction time of the suit, he had abandoned the idea of getting that done before West was back in the US, so he decided on building something new. Loki was nowhere in sight when Tony occasionally visited the kitchen to get himself some more coffee or a new bottle of whiskey. Jarvis made sure to block every upcoming call, most of them were journalists, who tried to get the story of their life and Tony was grateful that he hadn't have to deal with them. It was about 11 pm when Tony decided to screw work and go out clubbing instead.

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Review please =)


	6. Chapter 6: Breakfast with Princesses

_A/N: I really had fun with this one. I goofed around quite a bit... So yeah, some Tony/Loki interaction =) I really hope you'll like it as much as I do. And i want to thank you all for reviewing and faving! Keep doing that, it makes my day and help getting a new chapter out faster =D *heart*  
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**Chapter 7: Breakfast with princesses**

He was drunk. Not dead drunk, but his vision was dazed from the alcohol and he was glad that someone had called him a taxi. Must have been that cute brunette from the bar.

The sun was already shining through the street canyons, bathing the city in a golden light. Tony looked at his phone, it was nearly seven and he was tired. He supported his aching head with his hand, trying to not fall asleep while he was driven to the Stark Tower. The hangover was bound to occur tomorrow. Technically it was already morning, but as far as Tony was concerned, it's not tomorrow until he woke up.

Upon arrival he gave the driver some cash, it didn't matter to him how much it was, all Tony wanted was to get in his bed and sleep until it was dark outside again.

He opened the doors with his fingerprint, took the elevator to the penthouse floor and was welcomed by bright light that made his head hurt.

"Jarvis, shut the blinds."

Tony covered his eyes with his hand, trying to block out the glaring, until the AI complied to the command and lowered the shutters to darken the room.

Muttering all kinds of swears, he moved to the couch and fell face first onto the furniture, not even bothering to go to his bedroom, because fuck it, this was his tower after all. As soon as he closed his eyes and was drifting off to sleep, he heard noises from the kitchen counter, dishes clattering, someone was clearly moving around trying to find something.

The couch was too comfortable, so he tried to ignore the source of the fuss next to him, but every time he was half asleep, he would jump awake due to some chattering noise. He muttered something in his beard, pushed himself up from the couch in annoyance and tried to find his balance, before he stalked around the corner to see the god of mischief making a mess out of the kitchen.

"What the fuck are you doing, Rudolph?"

The god stood with his back to Tony and dropped the plate he had held just a second ago, which shattered on the ground with a piercing sound. Tony grimaced from the sound and shut his eyes.  
Loki had turned around to stare at him in surprise, before he knelt down to pick up the shards of the broken plate.

"I didn't think of you as an early riser, Stark."

The god watched him coming closer to the kitchen from the corner of his eyes, an amused grin on his face, when the man stumbled over his own two feet.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have come." Loki discarded the shards in the trash bin, giving the thing a last disparaging glance.

"My apology. I will take my leave."

Of course this was no serious apology, Tony knew, but he couldn't escape the feeling, he sounded disappointed that he got disrupted by the man. Tony looked around to see open drawers and cupboards, so the god was definitely in search for something. He went to one of them and got himself some painkillers.

"Actually, no."

The taller man turned around with narrowed eyes, clearly not knowing what the other meant by this.

"I just came back home, sleep is for old geezers." He murmured and hoped for the painkillers to kick in soon.

"Ah, I see." Loki replied with genuine interest reflecting in his green eyes. "Then we agree, you are but a child, Stark."

Tony just stared at him indignantly, before he sat down on one of the bar stools and rubbed his temples. He couldn't deal with that attitude right now. He closed his eyes and sighed, not caring for the god to come closer again, standing barely a few feet away now.

"But when I look at you like this..." Loki let out a malicious chuckle, "...you look terribly old."

"Oh come on , cut the crap." The engineer shot him a glance.

"What did you want here? And why did you have to make such a mess while doing it?"

Loki dropped his gaze, looking as if he searched for the right words to use or if he should tell him altogether.

"If it's of importance to you, well... I sought nourishment."

"Food. Like something to eat? Frost giants eat, too? Thought you guys feed on ice or something." A conceited moan escaped the gods throat, clearly annoyed by the human's idiocy, not even granting him an answer.

Tony ignored the sound and continued. "There's not much left in the fridge, I make Jarvis order the groceries tomorrow."

"I already saw that."

The raven haired god eyed him when he turned to slid off the chair, went to a closed cupboard, retrieved a box and put it down on the counter.

"Here."

Loki raised his eyebrows in disbelieve. He examined the box before him and switched his glance alternately from the box to Tony and back.

"What is this."

A moment of silence passed, both men doing nothing but stare, before Tony groaned and once more made his way to the fridge. He slammed a box of milk on the table and shoved it towards the god.

"Corn flakes?" No reaction from the god. Okay so he didn't know what corn flakes are, great. "Who's the child now?"

Tony muttered this hardly audible, but judging by the snarl that came from Loki, he must have heard him. Fortunately for Tony, his headache had eased off a bit, else he wouldn't cope with this attitude any longer. He reached for a spoon and a bowl from one of the drawers and gave it to him. Still no reaction, but that arrogant look.

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

Frustrated with the gods pride of not asking how things work, he took the corn flakes box, Cheerios to be exact and poured them into the bowl.

"Do the same with the milk and eat it. Easy enough for you to understand, isn't it?"

Tony ran a hand over his eyes, sighed deeply and tried to stifle a yawn. From the corner of his eyes he saw the god taking the milk and pouring some over the cereals. He didn't' seem keen about his meal, but tried it nonetheless, dipping the spoon into the Cheerios and leading it to his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, keeping a straight face. Tony couldn't say if the god was disgusted or fond of the corn flakes and was flabbergasted when he took another mouthful of it.

"I take it you like normal human food." Tony said in a mocking voice.

The god shot him a glance, but was too busy with shoveling the food into his mouth. The bowl was emptied quickly and Loki spared no time filling it again. Tony watched in astonishment, while the other ate as if he had been starved.

"Wow, you eat as if there were no tomorrow." Tony kept the comparison with Thor to himself, but their appetite was definitely the same. Loki looked up into brown eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Starvation is part of the asgardian confinement." He simply stated and returned to eat the third bowl.

Tony shifted uncomfortable on his chair and averted his gaze to the window, where the sun started to sink in. He supported his head with his hand. Of course he had known that Loki would have been imprisoned, but he didn't think about how torture looked like in Asgard and he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. He tried to press out the next words as calmly as possible.

"How long had it been?" The gods attention was once again drawn to the man in front of him, puzzled why the man cared at all.

"Sentimental, Stark?" The god cocked his head and offered a smug smile.

Tony sneered at him. "In your dreams, Reindeer Games."

He didn't expect an answer after this, but was surprised when he heard a bitter laugh from the other side of the table.

"A few weeks, perhaps." Tony could hardly believe what he had heard and he stared in bewilderment at the god who still ate his food with the same indifference as ever. The words were stuck in his throat, so he sat there with his mouth dropped open slightly.

"They do that to prevent the captive from healing too fast."

The headache was forgotten, his attention was fixed on the god, who looked down to his bowl in exhaustion and moved the little rings around with his spoon. Tony could see all those tiny cuts, almost healed, but still visible, on the god's face. His gaze moved to his lips as he continued to eat, couldn't look away from them anymore, until he noticed that Loki had stopped and stared right back into Tony's eyes. Tony shuddered under the intensity of those brilliant green eyes, mesmerizing as they were, and shook his head to clear the daze.

"I never thought to sit at the same table as my enemy and make small talk with him."

Loki couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Desperate times require desperate measures." The god got up, took the bowl with him and placed it in the sink.

"Amen to that." Tony thought about it. "How comes you are so chatty today?" He eyed the god in suspicion.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe even I enjoy a conversion with a, to some extend, intelligent being."

Loki had opened the fridge again and examined it further. There wasn't anything left except for bottles of various liquors and some glasses of unknown content, which he took one of and placed it on the table.

"You should drink less, Stark." It sounded more of an order than a suggestion and Tony wasn't up for any of those two.

"Yeah mum, how about no. The second day and you behave like a housewife?" Tony snorted. Not even Pepper was able to prevent him from drinking.

The god hissed and a second later he had his hands on Tony's throat, in speed that made his head hurt again. Loki bared his teeth, wanting to strangle the man in his grip, but fortunately for Tony, he decided against it and released the man a second later. Tony didn't understand how the atmosphere could have tipped like this. Roller-coaster, he thought to himself while running a hand over the assaulted flesh.

"Don't presume you could talk to me like this, ever! I might not have my magic, but I am able to kill you in a blink of an eye! Mind your place."

The fury was clear in his eyes, but Tony wasn't about to take him seriously. He rolled his eyes and growled right back at Loki.

"That megalomaniac thing again? In case you didn't get it, we all know you are a god, okay? And still there is no one who cares for your bullshit. Get over it!"

The anger on the gods face faded into something more relaxed and he just shrugged. A conceited smile graced Loki's features now and although he wore casual clothes, he looked down on Tony as if he was dressed in his golden armor.

"You still can't see that I want to bring you freedom?" The god asked.

"And it's the same old story again. We don't need anyone to reign over us, we been there, done that. Thanks." Voice dripping of sarcasm. "How exactly could you, like ever, make anything better as it is now?"

Loki could see the genuine interest in the answer, so he sighed at the insufficient comprehension of the mortal and continued.

"All you have on this realm now is hunger, war and misery. Your people go to war against each other for resources, others don't even have enough to survive, still there are people like you living in decadence. I honestly can see that you try to end it, Man of Iron, but the only way to establish peace in this world, is to force the idea into their head."

Tony narrowed his eyes and looked away, seriously trying to understand what happened in the god's mad mind. He had to admit, peace and equality were something that would never work in this society, the rich were rich because of the poor. Yet he would never pursue the way Loki wanted to go.

"Nah, we don't need an alien god to decide for us. People like to think for themselves."

The god thought about it for a second, before he came to the conclusion that it didn't matter what he said, Tony would not listen to anything coming from him.

"Why, yes. You will see it one day." He smiled maliciously and turned his attention back to the glass on the table.

Tony was perplexed by the whole conversion and wasn't sure how to deal with that last sentence. He ran a hand over his face and groaned at the pain in his head. The god really made his hangover worse, nonetheless he couldn't get himself to leave. Despite the god being unnerving as ever, he liked that there was someone there when he came back in the morning hours, and since he still was awake and already too sober for his own liking, why not share the misery of this situation.

So they sat there in an awkward silence. Tony observed the god eating the content of the glass, which turned out to be applesauce, and he quickly made a note that they'd need a lot more groceries than usual, judged by the appetite of Loki.

It was about half an hour later, when there was nothing edible anymore, that Loki moved to the part of the window front which wasn't covered by the blinds and oversaw the city. He stood there, hands folded behind his back, not doing anything but watching. Tony couldn't deny that the man had something royal about him, the way he moved, almost with feline elegance, and the posture he took, really screamed prince.

Tony murmured and got up, staggered a bit and held onto the counter for balance.

"I will go to bed now, it's way too early." Loki just nodded in response, but didn't turn to face him.

Tony decided for a last little act of mockery, because the haughty god certainly deserved it.

"You enjoying the view, Rudolph?"

An annoyed groan escaped the god and he dropped his head.

"Will you ever stop calling me these names?"

"Never ever. So?"

"Yes, I do."

"I could throw you through the window, so you could see even better."

The god started to laugh at this, a genuine hearty laugh, which struck Tony by surprise, but made him suppress a laugh himself.

"Another time." The smile stayed on his lips, while his gaze still faced the windows.

"I hold you to it."

With this Tony strolled down the corridor to his bedroom, took one last glance over his shoulder, seeing the god still standing on the same place where he left him, before he shut the door behind him and fell on his bed, not even bothering to remove his clothes.

* * *

Review please =)


	7. Chapter 7: The god's new clothes

_A/N: Again SO much fun with this chapter! It took me a while, university started and I had to manage all my courses. Yeah in this chapter, Tony starts noticing again how attractive Loki is, of course we already knew that.  
And I really want to thank everyone who reviewed! I'm really happy every time I read a new one *heart* _

* * *

**Chapter 8: The god's new clothes**

"Sir, I have to be adamant that you get up now."

The voice of the AI sounded through his room once again. That bastard couldn't keep quite for one second. Tony really considered to reprogram him to not wake him after boozed nights. He turned to the other side, pulled the blanket up to his ears and grumbled when Jarvis continued to disturb the silence.

"Sir, you coerce me to use radical measures."

In the second Tony opened his eyes at the AI's words, the window blinds were opened and bright light entered the bedroom, making the man shut his eyes in pain.

"God, Jarvis, I will donate you to a community college!"

He flung the blanket away and moved to stand up, still feeling slightly dizzy, but better than he had expected after the partying and the morning quarrel with the god of mischief. Despite the disagreements and the jabbering about dominating the entire race, he had enjoyed the little meeting. Seeing the god eating like that was amusing to no extend.

"Sir, since Ms. Potts waits in the living room, might I suggest you to hurry."

"You got to be kidding me."

Tony stared in disbelief, before finally getting up and moving to the door, not bothering to change his clothes from the previous day. When he entered the living area, an unnerving sight greeted him. There they were, sitting next to each other, rummaging around in a mountain of papers. Pepper, right next to Loki on the couch, speaking to him calmly, a view that Tony hadn't expected. He approached the two of them and eyed them suspiciously.

"I thought Shield didn't appreciated the fact that we fraternize with the enemy. What are you doing, Pep?"

Tony risked a gaze over her shoulder, before he met her blue eyes.

"Tony." She sighed and looked him over, not wasting one word on the question. "You look awful."

"You noticed."

He chirped and went for the coffee machine. He needed the stuff in the morning. Wait, he didn't know what time it was. Pepper was so obliging to give him a leg up.

"What exactly did you do last night, that even Jarvis can't wake you up at four pm." Late afternoon. Wasn't so bad, considering.

"Yeah, well. The usual." He took the freshly brewed coffee and moved to the couch again. "You know, everything from parties and girls, to feeding a starving god at about seven in the morning."

Taking a sip from the cup, he sat down across from them and leaned back. Loki had been silent until Pepper shot him a confused glance and he just shrugged.

"I have to affirm that."

"Anyway..." Tony began. "What are you two doing here?"

Pepper smiled, but kept the serious tone in her voice. "Business, Tony." She shoved one pile of the documents to Loki.

"Then why do you need me for this?"

"I can't do everything alone, you need to sign these." She handed him the other, to Tony's annoyance, much bigger pile, to him and focused her attention back on Loki.

"As for you, we need your signature... Here, here and here." She skipped a few pages. "Here also."

Tony put the stack aside casually and leaned forward to look at what Pepper called business.

"Why do I have to to undersign this?" The gods gaze shifted to the woman next to him. "These are all boundaries and limitations I not agree with."

Tony suddenly knew what this was about, so he smiled and sat back again, nipping on his coffee. Pepper was the right choice for the job and he mentally praised himself for promoting her. She had brought a declaration to cease and desist, which was clever indeed, dictating the former god what he could and could not do while he stayed at the tower. A grin formed on his lips when he saw Loki frown because of what he read. Pepper handed him a pen.

"It's either this, or going back to Shield. Choose."

Severity was written all over her face when she faced him and it made Tony think about it. Why would Fury want the god back all of a sudden? This was something Tony couldn't answer. There were many possible answers to the question, the most probable would be to have him as a test subject, a laboratory rat on which they could test all their weapons on. Tony didn't like the thought. He wouldn't wish this to his archenemy, which happened to be the person in question, so he looked at him and sighed.

"Do yourself and us a favor and just sign this shit. Can't be that bad." He wrenched the papers from Loki's hands and overflew the pages. "No electronic communication devices... Well since you don't have any." He shrugged but continued.

"No weapons, duh." He heard the god snort about this. "Not leaving the tower without a supervisor... In terms of shield, that's really civil. Besides, Pepper would make you comply one way or another."

He handed Loki the papers again and looked into the vivid green eyes. They were clearly searching for something, any reaction from the man across him. After a minute, Loki averted his gaze, taking the pen and signed where Pepper showed him earlier. She heaved a sigh of relief and shot Tony a small thank-you smile.

"I assume she is always responsible for the administrative matters. So much more assertive." The last sentence not more than a grumble.

Pepper shifted uncomfortably under the Loki's gaze, but her voice remained calm and collected.

"Someone has to do it, since Mr. Stark here seemingly has a problem with liability, saying it doesn't fit his style of living." She raised her eyebrows and gave Tony one of her looks, before it turned into a soft smile.

The woman really enjoyed teasing him and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. A chuckle turned Tony's attention to the god once more.

"I can imagine." Loki said, giving a charming smile.

Tony groaned loudly at this, annoyed by their tattle, so he emptied his mug and stood, but was stopped by Pepper, who handed him the pile of papers.

"Don't forget about these, I need them signed on my desk by tomorrow."

"Heard you. Anything else?" The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted asking immediately. Pepper crossed her legs and pointed to the god.

"Why is he still wearing the same clothes, Tony?" She faced him with a frown on her face, apparently displeased with the man. "It's been almost four days since he arrived..."

Loki examined his clothes and noticed how filthy they were. He tried to smooth down the fabric, to make it look a bit more tolerable. Tony looked at the almost miserable, scowling god and ran a hand through his hair. Much to his discontent he had to admit that yes, Loki indeed needed new clothes. The engineer grunted when he thought about all those paparazzi surrounding the tower.

"I know." He gritted his teeth. "I would take him out, wouldn't there be a crowd of vultures and crazy fans besiege my building. I am really not in the mood to deal with that."

"Fans?" Loki muttered amused and both Tony's and Peppers gaze fell upon him.

"For every mad megalomaniac there are crazy people who approve their shit." Tony grinned and waved at him. "I would say google it yourself, but I forgot, you're not allowed to. Too bad."

An affected laugh escaped the god.

"Your society is ludicrously divided, I'm truly delighted at these circumstances."

"Of course you are." Irritation written on Tony's face, when he glared at the other man, who just offered a smug grin in return.

"As much as I enjoy your wrangling..." Pepper interrupted. "I already planned ahead."

Satisfied with herself, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her schedule.

"Happy will pick you two up at seven. I made some arrangements with the manager of the Armani store on fifth avenue. They'll gladly close for Tony Stark to shop in privacy."

Tony sighed in defeat. "You do think about every little detail, do you?"

"Of course. As your assistant I had plenty of occasions to practice my skills." She replied cockily.

"Then why don't you go with him instead?" His fake smile was met with a stern look.

"Unfortunately I'm already booked out."

The charming way of Tony Stark just bounced off Pepper Pots, as always. She was one of the few women that could remain steadfast in his presence. And he really adored that trait of her.

"What, is it your birthday again?" Pepper closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, my birthday is still in April, Mr. Stark."

"Ah, right."

He dropped his gaze. Conversations like this always reminded him on their time together and he still loved her dearly, she was one of the people who Tony actually considered a close friend.

"Anyway." She flipped once again through her phone. "I made the new grocery list and uploaded it to the server, anything special you want?"

"Scotch. Black Bowmore."

He didn't even have to think about it, the words just poured out on their own. Pepper met his eyes with a look of pure annoyance and even Loki seemed to mimic her expression.

"What?" He asked.

"You should really drink less. Any binge drinking causes negative press and at the moment we don't want to hit the headlines again." Tony considered this, but shrugged it off.

"You would be well advised to act on her advise." The god was looking too seriously for Tony's taste.

"We already talked about that Rudolph, no fucking way." He put the papers under his arm and turned to leave. "Actually you can do whatever you'll like, Pep, but you should know by now that you can't prevent me from drinking."

A frustrated murmur was heard when he stepped into the corridor.

"Seven o' clock, Mr. Stark. Be sure to take a shower and change..."

Tony stopped her with a wave of his hand, but kept on going to his bedroom. "Heard you the first time, Pep."

* * *

After Tony had left, there had been a few silent minutes between Loki and Pepper, before she started sorting the documents and cleared her throat.

"So, what do you do the whole day?"

The god was startled by the sudden questioning and cocked his head to the side as if he didn't quite catch what she wanted from him. "Nothing, really."

Pepper now turned her attention to him, obviously puzzled by the answer he had given her.

"What do you mean, nothing? If anything, Tony has plenty of entertainment to offer."

Just a second later she realized that the god might have misunderstood what she said, judging by the shocked face staring right back at her and the blush that crept over his cheeks. Her lips turned into an amused grin and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Not what you think." She giggled, trying to calm herself. "I meant the book and movie collection Tony owns."

Loki eyed her, enraged by his own naïvety. How was this woman able to get him so flustered. She clearly wasn't like every other mortal woman in this realm and he had trouble figuring her out. Normally people feared him, behaving like frightened animals in his presence, but she was different, not one sign of fear and now she was laughing at him. Loki was at his wit's end with her, so he decided to just ask her why she was so relaxed around him.

"Why is it that you accept me so easily, woman?"

Pepper shot him a still amused smile. "I don't." The answer struck the god with astonishment. "I just tolerate you for his sake."

"Care to explain?"

She looked at him for a moment, averted her gaze and arranged the rest of the documents.

"I think it would be most beneficial for Tony to not have everyone hate the person he is bound to stay with. It would just spark new hatred, and I don't want him to be petulant because of you."

Loki looked to the side and let the words echo in his head. It did make sense.

"You have much of an Asgardian woman, Ms. Potts. Strong and independent, great partners. Stark can consider himself fortunate."

The last made her sigh in resignation. "Not that I think that's any of your business, but strictly speaking we aren't a pair anymore." Without another word she stood, took the sorted papers with her and grabbed the mug Tony had left on the coffee table.

"I always considered Stark to be a fool, but now I am certain."

Pepper let out a soft laugh at this and moved to the sink, putting the mug down.

"No, I'm just not the right person for him to bind himself to. He needs someone who keeps his interest, someone who can endure all of his flaws."

Loki could have sworn that the woman was disheartened by her own words.

"Then there might be not one woman in the nine realms that could tame him , if even you failed at it."

"Enough with the flattery, Mr. Laufeyson." A blush was barely visible on her cheeks, before she walked to the elevator. " Keep yourself busy, we don't want a bored god causing chaos, do we?" Her smile had returned at that point and she shot him one last glance over her shoulder. "Be ready at seven."

* * *

Loki decided to stay a bit longer and enjoy the silence. He ran his hand through his, now too long, black hair and leaned back on the couch. It was tiresome to deal with the mortals, especially with Stark, but it was still the better alternative to being confined by shield.

His eyes were firmly closed while he massaged his aching temples. The last few days had been exhausting and Loki couldn't even understand why he felt like this, most of the day he wasted with sleeping or just lying around. How humans could spend their limited time without doing anything productive was beyond him. That woman was right, though. There had to be something to keep him occupied. Loki opened his eyes again and scanned the surroundings. His gaze fell on a large shelf, slightly away from the center of the living room. Pushing himself up, he headed towards the objects of his desire.

The collection was as big as Ms. Potts had promised, there were various so-called classics, Pride and Prejudice, Faust; many works Loki wouldn't have expected Tony to have. Alongside classical literature, the man also collected nonfiction of numerous topics, not just engineering or robotics, but cultural and social studies. A particular book caught his attention in this neatly sorted collection. Loki took it from the shelf and examined its cover. Norse Mythology by Paul Herrmann, a special translated version. It was interesting to see how little the Midgardians knew about the gods they used to worship. He sat down in one of the, almost too comfortable, arm chairs and flipped the book open. As he read the first couple of pages, he couldn't help but smile. The book was well written, but most of it was purely invented, it amused the god and he wasn't able to put it down any time soon.

* * *

When Tony entered the room, fifteen minutes late, mind you, the room was bathed in twilight. He wanted to call for the god, but the words died in his throat when he noticed the silhouette of a person in one of the armchairs. Loki was curled up on the chair, a book lying in his lap, apparently asleep. Never had Tony seen the god so relaxed, he looked peaceful while sleeping and Tony tried to not stare in awe. He caught himself looking at his lips, all too soft and kissable and he wet his own lips unconsciously.

A sudden movement pulled him into the reality again. Loki shifted in his sleep and Tony nearly jumped out of his skin. It was enough with this madness.

"Hey, Princess, wake up."

The green eyes shot open and stared into brown ones. Tony could have sworn the god was embarrassed.

"You had a good time? What were you reading?"

Tony grabbed the item in question, before Loki could prevent him from doing so. The engineer raised an eyebrow at the book, eyed the god and discarded it on the table.

"You ready?"

"Yes."

Loki rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out and stood ungracefully. By the look of him, he might never have encountered sleeping feet. He had to admit, it was kind of adorable. Tony grinned at the clumsy god, turned and made his way to the elevator, gesturing Loki to follow.

* * *

Happy already waited for them in the car, motor running. Tony made his way to him, just to notice that the god dropped behind. Loki was quite amazed at the car pool in the tower's garage. He looked a few of them over, sliding a hand over the hood of the Audi Spyder.

"Do you have something to compromise for, Stark?"

Tony groaned at this. Not adorable anymore.

"Just get in the damn car."

Loki wore that wicked smile when he passed him and opened the door. Rolling his eyes, Tony got in after him.

"Hogan, I assume you know where to go?"

The driver smiled through the rear view mirror. "I was informed by Ms. Potts to take you shopping." Yes, shopping with a mad god, first thing on his to do list.

"Yup, can't think of spending my time any better." Voice dripping of sarcasm and Loki mimicked the fake smile Tony offered.

"I imagine." Loki's grin widened.

Loki was seemingly bored by the travel time. Once in a while Tony caught a glimpse of his elegant features, before turning around and facing the window again.

When they finally arrived at their destination, the place was crowded with people. Hogan did his best to honk his way through, he almost ran over a few persistent paparazzi in the process, what, in Tony's opinion, they deserved.

Hogan parked right in front of the building and exited the car to open the back door. The staff had already cleared their way and waited for them to walk up. Tony got out first, hand in his pockets, followed by the god. You could feel the tension and stress forming in the faces of the employees, when they saw who Tony Stark was accompanied by. They all averted their gazes to the ground, and Tony exchanged an irritated look with Loki, who was delighted by the mortals fear. Of course. Insane god of mischief. He muttered something before turning to one of the staff members, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"You really don't have to fear him, he's just a big, barking puppy."

Tony could feel the evil glance bore through the back of his head, but the woman in front of him seemed more relaxed and waved them inside. The paparazzi took photos as if their life was depending on it, shouting all kind of questions and Tony could already see the headline tomorrow. He faked a smile and pushed the sneering god inside. The employees acted fast and closed the doors, shutting out the mob.

"Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure seeing you again."

It was the manager Pepper talked about, late forties, looked like he had too much nipping and tucking. Tony downright ignored the man and focused Loki out of the corner of his eyes. The female staff members had encircled the god by now, completely loosing their sense around him. If there was something you could say about the chaos god, it was that he knew how to pull strings. Normally Tony was the center of the attention, but now Loki was stealing him the show. Pesky bastard. It was when the manager, Tony didn't catch his name, spoke again, that his attention was brought back.

"Do you need something special this time, Mr. Stark? The new collection just arrived a few days ago."

"Nah. I'm just the chaperon for my gust, here." The man eyed Loki suspiciously. "He's poor and I'm feeling generous today, so get him a new wardrobe."

"Of course, Sir." The man gestured towards his employees to start doing their job, an order which they gladly met. They spurted to get all kind of clothes.

Meanwhile Tony had sat down on one of the waiting couches, something every store should have for men waiting for their girlfriends, and flipped through a magazine. Something blocked his view and when he looked up, he met a pair of green eyes staring at him in confusion. They just stared at each other for a few seconds before Loki spoke.

"What should I get?" The sincerity in the gods voice struck Tony by surprise and he raised an eyebrow at him.

"Just get what you like? And, believe me I don't want to talk about that, but don't forget boxers and other important stuff..." Tony lowered his gaze again and Loki left without another word.

Over an hour later, Tony was about to doze off again, excited giggling caught his attention. He turned to face the source of the chattering and could hardly believe his eyes. Amidst all those ladies stood Loki, dressed in a dark green sweatshirt and black jeans, which fit his lean frame perfectly. He was attractive, no doubt about this and Tony really had trouble averting his gaze from the sight. This was Loki, the mad god, looking exactly like a normal human being.

"If you are satisfied, we will send you an invoice, Mr. Stark." Tony completely ignored the manager, eyes fixed on Loki.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." He just stumbled.

Green eyes met his and the returned gaze made Tony shiver. It frightened him that he found the god so appealing in his new clothes. Tony suddenly stood and before he could stop himself he placed a hand on Loki's back, guiding him to the exit. Strangely enough, Loki didn't seem to mind the gentle touch and offered a small smile. Tony leaned in and whispered.

"I almost wasn't able to recognize you, Rudolph, without all those golden bling bling."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Is this your pathetic way of complimenting, Stark?" A knowing smirk on his face.

"Never."

Tony's hand lingered a few more seconds, but he then took it away, given he crowd of paparazzi outside just waited for an opportunity to take pictures. The women were the first to exit the building, carrying the bags of clothing and trying to clear the path for them, with only modest results. Hogan had to help out shooing them away. Poor guy had waited the whole time. He really wasn't to be envied. After a few minutes, Tony and Loki walked outside. There still were enough people snapping a shot of them, and Tony could feel the god tense next to him, sneering and mumbling something barely perceptible, but he knew it had to be some kind of swear.

The employees placed the bags in the trunk, came around and eyed both man with admiration.

"Thank you for your visit, come again."

Normally Tony would have taken the opportunity to pick one of them up, but now he just didn't feel like it. Waving a hand, he got in the car, followed by Loki whose mood had worsen since they had stepped outside. The god looked through the darkened window to see that the paparazzi still took pictures. He huffed.

"Why are they so intrusive. It's nothing of their business.." Loki returned to stare at Tony, in need of an answer, but the other just shrugged and grimaced.

"It's their job."

"Annoying insects." He said with a snarl.

"Can't argue with this."

The ride home was silent after this and Tony sent an allegorical prayer to heaven when they finally arrived at the tower. After bidding Hogan goodbye and getting all those bags, too many to count by the way, they made their way to the penthouse floor. They reached their destination, and Tony didn't lose any time stomping out of the elevator, dropping the bags he carried.

He headed straight to the bar and grabbed a bottle of scotch, poured the content into a glass and took a sip. Loki allowed his time to follow, gathering the discarded bags and placing them neatly at the corridors wall, before he moved to the armchair and sat down, sighing heavily. Tony observed Loki leaning back, black hair falling over his shoulders and Tony suddenly felt the urge to drink himself into oblivion. Or doing something that has nothing to do with the god of mischief enjoying himself on his couch. Actually even thinking about him made Tony uncomfortable.

"If you have no objections, I would like to have that drink you offered me."

Tony's gaze wandered to the god, eyes closed and relaxed, a rare sight, so he just went with the flow. He grabbed a second glass and the bottle, and moved to the other, sitting down across from him and placing the items on the table.

"Don't chug it, princess, this stuff is kinda strong..." Tony warned, but was ignored when the god drank it in one go. A smug smile greeted his own abashed look.

"I am used much stronger liquors."

"Sure you are, Asgardian brat. Thor told us about those drinking binges."

Loki fell silent. Tony mentally slapped him again for mentioning it. Sensitive topic. He actually considered apologizing, but was broken off by Loki.

"I never was one for those feasts. I mostly kept to myself, studying in the athenaeum, not bothering with their presence."

Tony filled their glasses again and sipped on his. "Anti-social much? That's why you flipped?"

Loki stared at him with his piercing eyes. "Flipped." He huffed, shaking his head. "I did not flip." An almost feral snarl left the god's throat, making Tony raise his arms in defense.

"Fine, let's not talk about that. Or about anything."

He averted his gaze and took a gulp from his glass. It seemed that Loki was alright with the non talking, so they sat there drinking, without saying another word for an hour, before Tony interrupted the silence once again.

"You know..." He swirled his glass and looked to Loki. "If it wasn't for us being who we are, it would be quite enjoyable. But sitting here with the enemy is kinda awkward, given the fact that we hate each other."

Loki cocked his head to the side and observed the man. He placed his glass on the table, raised to his feet and took a few steps towards Tony.

"Who said I hate you, Stark?"

With this the god left him alone on the couch, astonishment written on his face. This night Tony was beset with dreams of a certain green-eyed god with new clothes.

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_Review please =D_


	8. Chapter 8: Science Buddies Part 1

_A/N: Hey there! Sorry for taking so long! university took almost all my free time. So yeah, the first part of the 8th chapter. I will have the second part ready by tomorrow or the day after =) Again I really love you guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing my story! I really appreciate the support and it helps me a lot in terms of writing faster =D You really make my day with comments *heart* So yeah this chapter will contain a not so comfortable Tony=P  
_

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**Chapter 8: Science Buddies**

The next week went by smoothly and both men started spending more time in each other's company. Tony had to admit that it was actually nice to have someone living in the tower, even if it was the god of mischief himself, whose mood had changed to the better since the groceries had been restocked. Tony could empathize. If he had been starving for weeks, he would be grumpy too.

Loki often spent his time reading in the living room, consuming one book after another in an astonishing pace. When ever Tony came back from charity events or long working hours in his workshop, he sat across the god with a glass of scotch and questioned him about the things he had read. It became kind of a habit for them, discussing books of various topics almost every evening. Tony was amazed of how well educated and inquiring the god was. In just those few weeks he had read nearly all the books stored in the tower and Tony had to promise to get him more.

It was refreshing to have someone with his intellect close by and any time the god was in a good mood, which happened surprisingly often lately, he used the opportunity to ask Loki about his studies back in Asgard and argued with him that his magic had to be some kind of physics, to which Loki only laughed. Tony would have died to make a few scans on the god, getting signatures from his magic, so he could prove that it's nothing but simple tricks, bound by physics. But there was no way he would be able to do that, since Loki was basically human now.

This evening they were sitting on the couch again, Tony deep in thought about work, and well, the reading god in front of them, at whom he stared once again. Loki was reading "the secret", a book Tony didn't like at all, but which seemed to be quite entertaining to the god, judging by the look of him. He turned a page and a smile crept on his thin lips, before he looked up at Tony and cocked his head. Loki held his gaze a few minutes without saying a word, but narrowed his eyes.

"Why is it you always gape at me like this?" he asked with serious interest. It was only then Tony noticed he was indeed staring again.

"Just enjoying the view." The words slipped his mouth before he could thing rationally and it made the god grin again.

"I see." Loki averted his gaze, looked down at his book again and shifted to a more comfortable position in the arm chair.

"So, what do you think about this one." He gestured to the book in Loki's hands.

Without looking up he spoke. "Well..." He sighed. "It's different."

Tony grimaced. "Didn't think you could be so polite. In my opinion it's contradictory, screwing with science laws, just because the author doesn't like the facts."

Loki looked as if he lacked words, as if he really tried to understand the mans thoughts. He closed the book and placed it aside on the table.

"I beg to differ. Even though I acknowledge your physic's laws, that opposites attract each other, the book still has a germ of truth in it." Tony eyed him sceptically. "The author tells us, that when you approach someone with a positive attitude, it's likely that you get a positive one in return. It's the same with us, actually."

Loki closed his eyes and leaned back when he heard Tony's groan. The god started to message his temples.

"Even though I hadn't expect it, you were the one to offer me a tad of respect, so I will try my best to act in the same manner towards you." Green eyes stared at brown. "And I tell you, that's most intricate."

Tony thought about this for a while. It made sense in this case, the traits of Loki he liked were similar to his own. Amused by the man's silence, seeing it as a win over him, Loki turned to the book once more.

"Not everything is about physics and technology, Tony."

Tony was shocked. His gaze was fixed on the god, who was clueless why the mortal looked to baffled.

"So we're to first names now?"

Only now Loki realized that he had indeed called him Tony. It had slipped his tongue so easily it scared him, and it wasn't easy to cover his embarrassment from the other man.

"My mistake." He just said, hiding his emotions behind indifference and looking to the side to avoid him. Tony shifted on the couch.

"Nah, it's fine. Everybody calls me Tony anyway, even if they don't know me, so it's only fair you can call me by my first name as well, since we're basically living with each other."

It made Loki laugh, a sound Tony grew addicted to in the last few days. "Tony it is, then."

The god nodded and smiled to himself. Tony couldn't resist the urge to mock the god one last time for today.

"So, how should I call you, then? Rudolph, Reindeer Games, Princess?"

A smug grin on his face. Loki sighed and was certainly annoyed at the nicknames.

"Your humor is still listless."

Tony took a swig from his glass.

"Can't let you down on this one, right?" He chipped and the god rolled his eyes, but said nothing in return.

A comfortable silence had engulfed them, and while Loki kept on reading, Tony got his tablet out and worked on a few new designs for the suit. Both were preoccupied, so they didn't notice that the doors of the elevator opened, until the familiar ping sounded through the room. It dragged their attention to the man standing in the elevator.

Bruce stood there like a deer in the headlights, apparently shocked by the sight of Loki sitting casually in Tony's living room. Tony jumped from the couch and rushed to the man, who just looked flabbergasted and clawed at the walls. He saw that Bruce was shaking slightly, so Tony reached out and patted his shoulder.

"You okay, Banner?" Seriously concerned with the well-being of his friend. "Don't hulk out on me, please. I just fixed the floor." He mused, but it had not the anticipated effect that he hoped for.

Bruce just stared at Loki, who hadn't moved an inch, but almost had the same tense expression on his face.

"Why is he here?" He asked grinding his teeth. Tony shot him a look of incomprehension and helped him regain his balance.

"You don't know? Didn't you see the lovely speech Fury held? It's his punishment. Like Thor 2.0, so no killing on sight."

Tony looked between the both men, before he focused on Bruce, who had closed his eyes and was seriously trying to calm down.

"I was in India, I didn't follow the media."

Tony thought about this. Why hadn't Fury informed Banner about this. There had to be a reason why. Maybe he wanted the Hulk to finish the god off, a possible threat to Shield, making it look like a unfortunate accident. The thought enraged Tony for god knows what reason.

"Fury should have told you, sorry that you got the news like this."

"Yeah, he should have." Sweat was forming on his forehead, but his voice was more steady than before.

"By the way, why are you here?" Tony asked.

" I... I was..." Bruce stuttered something incoherent, gaze still fixed on Loki. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I wanted to show you something I came across in Chennai."

Bruce looked down to his feet and put his hand on his duffel bag. "I have it in here."

"Uh, new toy, now you aroused my curiosity. Wanna go?" Tony pointed down, but Bruce just looked bewildered and ran a hand over his face.

"You just leave him here?"

The engineer shrugged. "Should I drag him down with us?" A dazed look answered his question. "Come on."

He guided the man back into the elevator and shot one last glance over to Loki, who was still stressed out.

Tony and Bruce were silent on their way to the lab floor, but as soon as the doors opened again, the genius had taken the better of Tony and almost exploded because of curiosity. He emptied one of the benches of all unnecessary things and spun around to wave Bruce to him.

"Come on, show me."

Bruce complied and unzipped the bag, opening the sight to something metallic and placed it on the table. Both of them were silent once more, Tony just stood and eyed the thing in front of him. Taking it up, he turned it around in his hands and looked it over. It was a material Tony hadn't seen before and it exited him like nothing else. Besides from its components, it looked like a mask. Yes, definitely a mask, rigged with wires and microchips.

"A drone?"

Bruce just nodded. "We already ran a few tests. The material it consists of is a hybridization of crystallized and amorphous structures on atomically level. It seems to be even harder than vibranium."

The man pulled a tablet from his bag and showed the graphs to Tony, who looked marveled at the graphics before him.

"Interesting."

"Indeed."

"Where did you find this?" Tony placed the mask on the bench again.

"I didn't." A puzzled look crept on Tony's face and he gestured to Bruce to continue. "Well, it found me, if you want to describe it like this."

The man fell silent again and finally Tony grew tiresome of having to worm every single word out of Bruce. "And?"

It seemingly pulled Bruce back to reality. "I was attacked by it."

The billionaire snorted. "By a metal head."

The man adjusted his glasses and shifted on his feet. "There was more of it, before the Hulk... the Other dealt with it. Actually it looked like a suit, but it turned out to be a robot or drone, programmed to execute orders from someone. It was really fast, Tony."

Tony had no words, if it was as Bruce told him, it was a masterpiece by itself and his inner child screamed at him to open that thing up to see how it functioned. He picked up a screwdriver and went to unscrew the mask, just for Bruce to grab a hold on him.

"You shouldn't do this." Panic was heard in his voice, but he couldn't stop Tony in time. The eyes of the mask lit up and wires started to scorch in his hands, making him yelp in pain and throw the thing to the other side of the room. It beeped a few times, before it exploded into thousand pieces, almost hitting Tony on the head.

"Damn." he snarled and looked at his burned hands.

Fortunately there was no burned rubber from the wires on his skin but he hissed in pain when Bruce took a hold on his wrist.

"I tried to tell you."

"Didn't try hard enough." he grumbled. Bruce looked over the hand and pulled Tony with him to the bench.

"It happened to the body as well, when we inspected it." He sat down on the swivel stool and Bruce knelt before him, pulling out some medical flagons from his bag. "A second-degree burn. This will hurt a bit, but we have to disinfect the wound."

The doctor took a cotton ball, dipped it into the octenidin flask and pressed it on the blister covered skin. Tony scowled at the man, but tried his best to hold still.

"I'm sorry, Tony."

An apology that really wasn't for the man to offer, it was not his fault at all, but Tony was furious with the world itself. Bruce took a bit of chlorocresol salve onto his fingers and applied it to Tony's palms. It was ice cool and eased the burn, making him feel relieved.

"This is like a panacea, dude."

"It helps the wound to not scar."

"That's good to know. After this assassinations attempt I was seriously concerned for a few scars."

A forced laughter came out of his mouth. Bruce continued to bandage both hands and handed Tony a few pills.

"Take these later." He raised from the ground and towered above the wounded man. "Excuse me, I just have to ask."

"Huh?" was the intelligent answer Tony gave the man.

"How can you live with this monster?"

A dark tone layered in his voice and Tony really didn't want to talk about this, knowing that it would upset the man even more.

"Technically he isn't a monster..." he began, but regretted it immediately when he looked at the face of his friend. "It's not that bad as I thought."

Bruce furrowed his brows. "Are you okay, Tony? Did he try to manipulate you?"

"What. No. What makes you think I am manipulated?" Bruce sighed and tugged at his sleeves.

"You seemed quite comfortable sitting next to him earlier."

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. Not that it was anyone's business with whom or how he spends his time, but now Bruce looked at him with that judging look on his face and it annoyed the hell out of him.

"What, you jealous Mean and Green? You know there's only one beast for me." He shot a smug smile to the man, who turned his gaze away.

"No, I am just worried."

Tony wanted to pat the man, but thought twice about it when he looked at the bandages. Bruce was one of the few people in the world that genuinely cared for him, Tony knew, but still it wasn't for him to call the shots here.

"Please believe me then, I am not under his spell. He doesn't even have his mojo anymore."

"Then why?"

This question really made Tony think about it. He started liking the god's company because it was intellectual challenging. And that was what he told Bruce whatsoever. He excluded the little details of growing attached to the gods eyes and intriguing personality, Tony really didn't need to have the man hulk-out in here. And he really couldn't argue that the comfortable feeling around Loki was scary, it scared the hell out of him.

He often found himself daydreaming about the god, distracting him from work more than he liked to admit. It was attraction. There was no other word to describe it, Tony was drawn to the man, not just to his looks, but to the mind behind it. It wasn't even that he liked men in particular, Loki had just something that always held his attention. He wanted to touch that silky black hair of his, feel the skin flushed beneath him and... Yeah physical attraction. Definitely so, but he would never admit it to anyone. Liking a madman wasn't something he wanted to proclaim loudly to the world. Tony stared blankly into the distance while Bruce gave him a look of incomprehension.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bruce pressed out and Tony waved at him in return.

"Yes, if you don't take my hands into equation." A small forced smile was visible on the mans face when he closed his bag and flicked it over his shoulder. "You want to go already?"

"I can't stay while he's here. And about that mess, I will..." Tony narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it."

They turned to the elevator, but Bruce stopped before he got in.

"Before I forget. I was told to remind you on the Shield security briefing tomorrow."

It made Tony groan in exasperation. "First a bomb and now a briefing? They really want me dead."

A laugh escaped Bruce before he stepped into the elevator. "Don't miss it. At ten at the helicarrier."

"Whatever mum."

With this the doors closed and left the engineer by himself. He waited a few minutes before Jarvis confirmed that Bruce had left the building, before pushing the button to summon the lift and going back up to the penthouse floor. His hands still hurt like hell and he examined them further when he stepped into the room.

"Is the beast gone?" A bitter voice greeted him. Tony looked up to find Loki in the same place than before.

"He is no beast." Tony scowled angrily. Loki wanted to contradict, but Tony interrupted before he could even start. "But yes, he left."

Loki sighed heavily and visibly relaxed at the words. Of course the man was tense around Bruce, the last time they met wasn't exactly pleasant and if Bruce had hulked-out earlier, Loki would have been dead in a second. Tony didn't really want to think about it. He headed to living room suite and sat down on the largest couch. The bottle from earlier was still there, so he picked it up and took a pull from it, not noticing that Loki actually moved closer until he was he was right next to him.

"What happened?"

Loki grabbed his hand before Tony could move it away and loosed the bandage. He looked anguished at the sight of the red, blistered skin and winced slightly.

"You burnt yourself badly."

Tony wanted to add a sarcastic remark, but it stuck in his throat. Loki was too close, too close for him to thing rationally. His face was beside the god's, strands of black hair brushed over his arm when Loki inspected the injury and it made him shiver. He picked up the scent of freshly washed clothes and another one, which was distinctively Loki. He smelled like fresh rain and Tony lost himself in the scent, completely ignoring everything the god beside him uttered. Tony let his gaze wander over his elegant features, the exposed flesh of his neck, before emerald-green eyes locked with his.

"What is it? You seem absent."

"It's nothing." he lied. Loki looked down at Tony's hand again.

"If I had my magic, I could make it heal."

The soft brush of Loki's fingers made him clench his jaw and he finally pulled his hand away. He needed to get out of this situation right now, before the playboy in him did something stupid.

"Yeah and I would love to do scans of your magic, but we can't always have what we want."

There was more viciousness in his voice than intended. The god shifted uncomfortably, apparently sensing the frustration and moved away a few inches.

"That is true."

Tony stood suddenly and wrapped the bandage round his hand again. "Well, I will go to work. If you'll need something, ask Jarvis."

Without waiting for an answer, he stomped towards the stairs to his personal workshop and exited the room as fast as his feet carried him.

* * *

Tony spend the whole night working on all kinds of stuff, with no mentionable progress. He couldn't stop thinking about the god of mischief, it was an itch he just couldn't scratch. Of course he knew that there was no chance in hell he would act out on his... needs. But still, those thoughts robbed him of his sleep and sanity. Avoiding the temptation seemed to be the best idea, but he just couldn't bring himself to do this. The god finally started to don't be a pain in the ass, and Tony did enjoy himself when he discussed things or argued with him. A catch-22 that almost made Tony tear his hair out. It was almost seven in the morning, when his brain grew tired of thinking back and forth and decided to shut down, leaving the man sleeping on his workbench.

"Sir, must I remind you of the Shield meeting in half an hour?"

The AI's voice mad Tony jump from his chair and he instantly felt the aftermath of sleeping on a chair. His back ached in protest when he stretched and got up. A quick glance at his watch told him it was indeed half past nine, he had slept for about two and a half hours and that was exactly how he felt. Tired and worn out. And hungry.

"Jarvis, deploy the Mark VIII."

"Yes, Sir." the AI replied.

He stepped onto the platform and the mechanical arms attached the suit in less than a minute. The window front opened up, the Iron Man sped up and soared into the air.

Again all eyes were on him, when the Avengers had gathered at the round table on the helicarrier's bridge. The Widow and Captain America shot him an annoyed glance, while Barton and Thor looked at him in envy. Bruce tried his best to ignore the man besides him and Fury just face palmed.

"At least you're punctual, Stark."

Tony shrugged. He sat there in his suit minus his mask, legs crossed, resting on the table and ate one of the many cheeseburgers he brought with him. Before Fury could continue with his mockery, he tossed a burger to Clint and Thor, who accepted it gratefully. A full-mouthed smile was offered to Fury, who just shook his head.

"I called you in today because of the increased sightings of robots around the globe. Dr. Banner and Stark already made contact with them." The spy shot a scornful grin Tony's way, who let out a displeased groan.

"We already assigned Dr. Banner to track down the signatures of the ones we captured, so hopefully we will have a location soon." The man paced the room in front of a large screen. "Captain Rogers, Agent Romanov and Agent Barton will infiltrate as soon as the position of the operator is confirmed."

The three nodded at this, but Tony just frowned. He got his feet off the table and crossed his arms.

"Then why did you asked us to come?" He gestured towards the eating god of thunder. Fury's usual indifferent look turned to a more hateful one.

"We need to talk about Loki."

"Why?" The blonde god asked with irritation in his voice.

"We want to secure that he isn't part of the global terrorism."

Tony wasn't impressed with the answer, so he kept pressing. "You sure that's what you want to do? You don't want to use him as your guinea pig?"

He snorted when Thor looked shocked at his question, before he banged his fist on the table. "I won't let you use my brother as your test subject!" The thunderer was enraged and about to flip the table. Tony held up a hand for him to calm down.

"What was the point then to have him imprisoned in my tower? He is monitored twenty-four seven."

Fury ground his teeth and let his hands rest on his hips. "Merely a makeshift, Stark. I thought you would be happy with him gone." The man glared at Tony, thinking of himself as superior and suddenly everyone in the room faced him once more. He tried to blank out the knowing glimpse from Bruce.

"Yeah maybe I would be, but I don't want him to be tortured by Shield, either. The kind of thing you don't even wish your enemy." A fake smile graced his lips.

Thor nodded and spoke again, more determined to get his point across. "The man of iron is right and it's not the All-father's wish to have his son agonized."

Tony's grin widened. "You don't want to risk the already strained relations with Asgard, right? Turning their prince into a prisoner is surely not the right way to go with this." He casually mentioned and examined the frustrated face of Shields master spy.

Rogers looked stunned at this. "You really want him to stay with you? Are you insane?"

Tony let his head fall back and stared at the ceiling. "No, Capsicle, I just trust my own security more than this half-sophisticated prison, where Loki did escaped in the past, if I recall correctly, and I do." The man fell silent and averted his gaze.

"I will also ensure to watch over my brother." Thor proclaimed.

Fury returned the pissed off look Tony gave him, but threw his hands up in defeat. "I want a report filled every week, Stark." He passed a few documents to Agent Hill. "If you don't fulfill your duty, we will move him to the carrier." Tony grimaced. How he loved paperwork. "You are dismissed. I will inform you further about the mission when Dr. Banner finished the tracking."

Tony was off the table the second he heard the word dismissed. Picking off his mask, he didn't even bother to spend anymore time with the Avengers. The blonde god grabbed him by his shoulder, preventing the man to leave just yet.

"I am grateful for your support, my friend." Thor beamed, he always wore his emotions as a second skin. "I will pay you a visit in a few days to check on my brother." He gave Tony an almost painful clap on the back, making him wince in discomfort.

"I am so looking forward to it, Goldilocks."

The smile on Tony's lips was fake, but as per usual the thunder-god didn't quite catch the sarcasm. Tony just shook his head at Thor's naivety. Before anyone else could say a word, he was off the bridge and in the air again, heading to his tower to bury himself in his workshop. It had been ridiculous. He behaved so out of character, became so defensive, it made no logical sense. Not to his friends at least. He landed on the balcony of his tower and the mechanical arms once again got a hold on the suit, detaching it from the man. A startled god greeted him when he stepped inside. Loki noticed the pissed off look on the mans face.

"Where were you?"

He placed a book aside and stood to face him, but the man just waved off and stomped past him. Loki was perplexed at this reaction and took a few steps to follow him. He reached out for the man to stop in his tracks.

"Did something happen?"

Tony paused, spun around and looked him in the eyes. He really didn't want to have this conversation now.

"No, it was just your brother and me saving you from Shields torture chamber." A hostile grin on his lips. "Now if you would excuse me, I'm not in the mood to chat with you, princess."

Loki pulled his hand back and let the man leave. He wasn't even able to reply to anything, his silver tongue failed him miserably. If it was true what the man had told him, he was in his debt again. Still, why Tony and his brother... Thor, had taken a stand for him, was inexplicable. He himself wouldn't have done this for even one of his enemies. Loki sighed and moved back to the couch, with a distraught feeling in the pit of his stomach. The next few days, Tony didn't come to talk about the books.

* * *

_I'm sorry Loki, no book club anymore =(  
Please review if you liked this chapter =D_


	9. Chapter 9: Science Buddies Part 2

_A/N: Okay so here's the second part of the 8th chapter! I'm really glad you all like my story so far! Thanks again for those wonderful reviews! I already wrote the next two chapters (and damn they are long) and I can tell you that in chapter ten there will be some ..."action"? Oh well XD Anyway, i really hope you'll enjoy the second part. Loki has some talk with Tony about how he shouldn't treat his favourite god =)_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Science Buddies Part 2  
**

Tony had spent the last couple of days in his workshop, working on various things to keep himself distracted, just going upstairs late at night to avoid seeing the god. The last time he had talked to him had been an absolute mess. His mood had been terrible and he had vented his anger on Loki, despite him just asking what the man had been up to.

How come Tony always did the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. His own behavior embarrassed him, preventing him from moving freely in his own building, just because he could cross Loki's path. It was ridiculous. He shouldn't give a damn how the arrogant bastard felt, yet he felt guilty for snarling at him like this.

Tony laughed at his own thoughts. Probably the god didn't even care about the man's outburst and would twit about the stupid mortal. He really acted like a child sometimes. But he wasn't one to apologize, so he chose to bring a little bit more distance between the god and himself. It would certainly be for the best for both of them. So Tony kept to himself.

At least he had made progress with the infrasound bomb, on which he needed to run a few more tests. It's been hours since he had eaten, so he pushed himself from his chair and stalked to the stairs. Carefully he glimpsed at the living room and sighed in relief when he couldn't spot Loki on the couch. Soft-footed he went to the kitchen and got himself some greek leftovers from the night before. He also used the opportunity to change his clothes and shower, before he returned to his workshop.

His heart almost stopped when he came down the stairs. There was Loki, back turned at him and looking at his older suits.

"How the fuck did you come in here? You don't have permission to enter here!" The sound made Loki turn around.

"The door was open, and I was curious on what you are working on so excessively."

Tony looked baffled at this. "And why didn't you tell me he is down here, Jarvis?!" He growled at the AI.

"You did not instruct me to inform you of his whereabouts, Sir."

Running a hand over his face, he finally entered the room and placed the food box on his bench. He picked the bomb up and showed it to the god, not even bothering looking at him. Loki eyed the thing and cocked his head to the side.

"Well, now that you saw it, get out."

Tony felt the gods eyes on the back of his head and when he finally turned around, because there wasn't an answer, the god was merely an inch away. Damn he was one tall bastard. Unnerved green eyes stared at his and he forgot what he was about to say. He could feel Loki's breath on his skin. Definitely too close for Tony's liking.

"Why are you avoiding me all of a sudden, Stark?"

Tony wanted to slip away from those piercing eyes and averted his gaze. The god took the silence as an answer.

"So it is like this." Resentment was in audible in his voice. "What did they say to you?"

That caught Tony's attention and he looked up to find the god's frowning face. "What?"

The taller man grabbed him by his arm. "It is about that conference a few days ago, so tell me!" the god demanded and hissed. "I don't approve of being ignored!"

Tony just stared, mouth open in astonishment. The god really longed for company as it seemed and he shock his head, clearing his mind from the daze.

"It's just..." His voice cracked when the words came out. "We shouldn't spend too much time together."

Loki let go of him abruptly and laughed bitterly.

"Of course. What was I thinking?!" The laughter turned hysterical and it scared Tony. "Fraternizing with the enemy, especially me." He started pacing the room to stand in front of the suits again. "The great man of iron, manipulated by the god of mischief."

Tony could hear hurt in his voice and he sighed heavily. "That's not..." He stuttered.

Loki faced him and there was absolutely no hurt displayed on his features, but pure anger.

"That's not what I meant. I don't let anyone dictate me anything."

The god narrowed his eyes. "What then?"

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's scary." Loki looked taken aback at this statement.

"You fear me?" Tony huffed and raised an eyebrow.

"What? Never, Rudolph." Finally he was getting some of his usual drive back. "It's scary that I don't mind your company anymore."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself for admitting this. Loki stood rooted to the spot, apparently trying to comprehend what he heard and Tony could basically see the man thinking.

"There is no logic within your rantings. You enjoy my company, therefore you avoid it altogether." His mouth was pressed to a thin line. "And you call yourself a genius."

Now that he heard it, it was contradictory. And it bugged him to be denounced by a chaos god.

"Why are mortals always so intricate when it comes to the things they want?" Loki's features grew softer. "You are but children." He mused and moved in on Tony, once more capturing him between the bench and himself.

A smug smile had crept on his lips when he looked down at the smaller man. His presence was threatening, so Tony wasn't surprised by the following words.

"Don't dare to ignore me one more time with one reason so moronic." Tony swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. "Good." The god still grinned and looked down. "How are your hands?"

"Better." Tony managed to say before Loki grabbed Tony's hands and examined them thoroughly.

"The wounds heal well." He stated and released his grip.

Loki's gaze then wandered over Tony and lingered on his chest. One slender finger brushed over the fabric that covered the arc reactor and drew circles on top of it.

"Tell me about this."

Tony could hear his heartbeat in his ears. The god was definitely toying with him, no doubt about it. When there was no answer coming from the man, Loki raised his gaze to his eyes.

"I would rather not."

This just aroused the god's interest even more and he tapped a few times against the reactor. "Something to keep you alive then." Loki smirked and took a few steps back, eying all the tools and invention lying around.

Tony followed him with his eyes. "How did you figure?"

Loki examined one of the suits again. "I'm not as narrow-minded as Thor. I am interested in the accomplishments of humanity." It baffled Tony to a certain extend.

"Really? I thought you were all about your magic." The mockery failed to produce the wanted effect.

"Wasn't it you who told everyone that magic is just another form of science? Explainable and bound by physic's laws?"

Tony rolled his eyes over this remark. "Yeah, because it is like this, I could prove it to you, if I had the chance to make a few scans."

Loki chuckled. "Unfortunately for you, my magic is bound."

Fortunately for Tony was more like it, if it had been any different, he might have been dead the moment Loki laid eyes on him. Tony sat down at his bench and looked at the infrasound bomb.

"This is what you work on?" The voice came right from over his shoulder. Loki had bent over the sitting man to get a glimpse. There was the familiar small of rain again. "What is it?"

"I really shouldn't tell you this." The god rolled his eyes. "It's a bomb, emitting low-frequency sound waves on impact."

An exited look met his own. "Causing fear and confusion in humans, as well as internal bleeding in some cases."

Okay, Tony hadn't expected this, so he stared in awe. "Yes." was the only thing he could press out.

"Whom do you want to use it against?" He thought about it and let Loki take over the small cube.

"Not so sure about this yet."

"For normal humans it might be quite effective. Against foes of alien origin highly ineffective." Looking at the sitting man, he continued, before the obvious question could be asked.

"Your range of hearing is restricted. The range of an Asgardian, for instance, starts way under the human one." He eyed the thing in his hands and turned it around. "Still, it is quite remarkable."

A compliment from the god. Did he got that right? "Thanks, I guess."

Tony wasn't sure if he should feel flattered or insulted. Loki seemed to know a lot about science in general and Tony was keen to find out how much he knew exactly. Loki was still dangerously close to Tony's face and he had trouble focusing on forming words.

"How do you know about all that? Did you get some Midgardian private couching?" Tony quipped, taking the item out of Loki's hand and placing it back on the table.

A soft chuckle sounded besides his ear.

"Tony..." Loki said in that arrogant tone of his. "I am a god."

Tony closed his eyes in annoyance. "Well,duh. How about telling me something I don't already know?"

"Patience is a virtue." A conceited grin graced his lips when the god straighten himself. "I lived for thousands of years. I was there when mankind evolved from hairy apes to the naked ones you are now."

This was the kind of humor Tony really hated. He shifted on his chair to face Loki.

"Well, the hairless apes did kick your ass back then."

Much to Tony's displeasure, the statement didn't do much to wind the god up, however the still visible grin on Loki's face made his confidence fade away.

"It was a one-off. Be assured that I always come out on top."

"What ever, Rudolph." Tony waved at him and huffed. "You sure know how to message your ego."

Loki folded his hands behind his back and strode the room. He looked at framed magazine covers with Tony's picture on them and suppressed a laugh.

"Apparently I'm not the only one."

Tony tsked at this and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have anything else to do? You shouldn't even be here." He shot an angry look to the ceiling, before his gaze returned to Loki.

"As a matter of fact, I don't."

Tony had believed the books would have kept the god occupied longer. But obviously he had been wrong. He rummaged around in one of the drawers and took out a cube.

"I would give you something... more advanced. But since you're not allowed to..."

The cube was thrown Loki's way, who caught the item with ease. Loki examined the thing in his hands and glimpsed sceptically at Tony.

"It's a Rubik's cube. A puzzle. To solve it you have to turn it until each side is returned to consisting of one color."

"Hmm..." was the only reply he got. "I will take this with me then." Without taking his eyes of the cube, Loki walked to the stairs.

"I'm curious how fast you'll gonna solve this." Their eyes met again, and Tony saw that Loki accepted the challenge, before he pushed the glass door open and left him alone.

A few minutes went by with Tony doing absolutely nothing. He tried to process what exactly had happened. First the god called him out on his avoiding tactic and then pushed just the right buttons to make Tony feel like a hormone-driven teenager again. The intimacy was too much, it was driving him mad. He ran a hand over his face and put his head on the bench. Tony had a hunch that this wouldn't end well. Jarvis' voice interrupted his interior monologue.

"Sir, should I grant Mr. Laufeyson rights for the workshop?" Tony frowned in disbelieve at the AI.

"No, why would you?"

"You seemed to quite enjoy his company." A groan.

"Hell no, Jarvis. He's not one of my science-buddies or anything. So, no."

"Understood, Sir."

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the second part of this chapter! Please review =)_


	10. Chapter 10: Movies

_A/N: Gosh, my week has been the hell. Was away from home from 7 am to 7 pm every day it was really tiring. So yeah I wrote down the plot down for like three more chapters and I am writing the 12th chapter right now. SO yeah, again I really thank you for reviewing *heart* Really appreciate it! I hope you will like the new chapter as well. I am actually sorry for making Tony do such things and for Loki having to endure said things. Well yeah...  
_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Movies**

The evening when Loki came to Tony's workshop for the first time had made a difference for both of them. Tony had abandoned the thought of avoiding the god anymore, since it obviously archived the exact opposite of what he aimed for. The more time he spend in his workshop, the more often Loki would stand behind the glass door, muttered to be let in and Tony couldn't really deny him, since he still didn't get round to provide the god with new books.

So Tony gave him small tasks and games to waste his time, like the Rubik's cube, which the god solved fairly quick. They spend time discussing various project of Tony's and he had to admit, Loki's input was valuable feedback, helping him to improve more than just one of his little gadgets. A few days went by like this. Tony worked on things, Loki came to visit him with some kind of food and they would just pass time. After the last couple of days Tony didn't even bother to close the door anymore.

He sat in front of his screens and ran a few scans over a design for a new reactor socket, when the familiar scent reached his nostrils. By this time, Tony would know when Loki was there, before he actually saw him. Loki came around and sat down on the edge of the bench, placing a mug of coffee in front of him and looked at the screens. The god was more into electrical engineering than Tony would have ever imagined. And it made him edgy. Loki eyed the design.

"Maybe you should relocate the wires, so they don't interfere with the relays."

It would have been something to thing about, if Tony had listened. His eyes were glued to the man next to him. Loki wore a blue denim jeans and a v-necked shirt, exposing his neck, which Tony longed to touch. He imagined what it was like to put his hands under that shirt and feel that marble-like skin, before his fantasizing came to an end and green eyes stared at him in fluster.

His desire really was too obvious. Tony needed to think about something else, but this was easier said than done, with someone like Loki in front of him, displaying his body in such tight clothes. Secretly he was glad for the view and the playboy in him yelled in pleasure when Loki stretched, making his shirt ruck up, revealing fine toned abs and a trail of black hair.

"Did you hear me?" A knowing, smug smile was shot in Tony's direction.

"You really make it hard for me to follow..." he replied absently.

The words were spoken behind a hand covering his mouth, but still Loki had apparently heard them, because the smile turned into a full hearty laugh and he leaned in, barely an inch from Tony's ear.

"Does my presence distract your thoughts, Tony?"

Tony choked on the words. He liked hearing his name dripping from this mouth, in this tone. The god really liked to play around and he was falling for it. Of course he was distracted. There was Loki breathing into his ear, how could anyone focus on working. Tony looked to the side and pouted, annoyed by the toying.

"Never, Rudolph." he spat. Smiling, Loki moved out of his personal space and eyed the screens again.

"What is this?"

Suddenly Tony's brain seemed to function again. "It's a new socket for this." He tapped against his arc reactor. "It is in dire need of reshaping." The arc reactor was again source of Loki's attraction.

"You still won't let me see it, I suppose." Loki said with a sneer.

"Damn right, I won't."

"What a shame." A glimpse of disappointment was visible in his face, when he pushed himself from the table and stood.

"So..." Loki glanced over his shoulder. "You really think it would be more efficient if I redirect the wires?"

Tony stroked his goatee and drew a few lines over the design. He heard a snort behind him and rolled his eyes when a slender finger pointed to a specific area.

"Here." It moved. "And here."

How could he have overlooked this, it was obvious and he would have banged his head on the table, if it wasn't for Loki watching. They went over the design for some time, Tony always groaning and muttering whenever Loki found a... "flaw" to improve. It was better in the end. And he hated that fact. Tony looked over to Loki, who answered with a small, victorious smile, which made his heart jump.

"Sir?" Both men raised their gazes at the sudden sound. "May I remind you that the Avengers will be here in approximately twenty minutes?"

Damn, he totally forgot about that. Thor wanted to pay his little brother a visit and who was Tony to deny him that, but since the others had got wind of this little meeting, they just had self-invited themselves. Natasha told him that he hid himself away from the world since Loki had moved in and that he needed some other company once in a while. Total bullshit in his opinion. A movie night with Barton and Thor would just add to his insanity.

"Thanks Jarvis."

Loki huffed. "You invited your friends over to play?" That arrogant tone was back in his voice. "Let's hope that friend of yours can keep his calm this time."

Tony snorted at this before he saved the file and shut down the computer.

"I think Natasha keeps her leash on him pretty tight." He blinked at the god who tried to suppress a smirk.

"Well that woman definitely knows her crafts."

Yes, you could say that much about her, damn spy. Loki made his way to the glass door and Tony sorted a few things, before he followed suit, closing the door behind them and locking it with a code. Without making eye contact Tony went past Loki.

"Thor wants to check on you by the way." A roll of his eyes and a snarl followed that remark.

"Well I am not particularly keen to see that oaf."

Tony wasn't really surprised by this, so he just shrugged. "Was it ever any different?"

No answer was given to that. When they made their way to the living room, Loki faced him a last time.

"I bid my goodbye then." He looked absent. "Tell Thor, if he is here for nothing but pity me, there is no reason to visit me altogether." Loki turned around and walked down the corridor to his room, when he heard the man talk.

"You know you could just stay and tell him yourself." Tony had sat down on the couch with a glass of scotch and perked his eyebrows.

Loki dropped his head and mused. "Me, your enemy staying casually with the Avengers. Let me think of it." A grin was thrown over his shoulder. "That sounds like a brilliant idea."

This god really was a parade example for sarcasm. "I think I'll pass, but you know where to find me if you'll have problems with your work again."

Tony faked a smile and nodded, until Loki was out of sight. Mocking bastard. Actually Tony liked the idea on having Loki around, it totally spiced things up. His presence was one hell of a provocation for the team and Barton's reaction was worth the hassle. He emptied his glass again, he wouldn't survive this evening while staying sober.

* * *

The captain and the assassins were the first to arrive, always on the minute, like good little soldiers. Jarvis let them up and Tony just waved at them, without even moving from the couch. Clint and Natasha sat down besides Tony and stole the bottle from him, they got the idea, whereas Steve just stood in front of him, with his hands on his hips and raising one eyebrow. Even in casual clothes, as much as clothes from the last century could be called casual, he looked as if he were on duty.

"Drinking again, Stark?" He glanced at his watch. "It's barely six."

"You don't expect me to have a sleepover with all my girlfriends without drinks." Tony raised his glass and smirked at the man who sighed in defeat and sat down at an armchair.

"By the way." Barton said, before he took a sip from the bottle and grimaced at the flavor. "Banner backed out. Said he couldn't handle the stress."

The anger was obvious, but Tony decided to ignore it. Clearly the man hadn't forgotten about his last visit and the unfortunate outcome of his encounter with Loki. Tony had to stifle a laugh and muttered.

"Can't blame him."

Which earned him a dark look and an elbow in the ribs from Natasha. He wanted to complain, but Steve interrupted before anything could escalate.

"Who's turn is it?"

The attention was immediately directed towards the captain, who looked kinda hapless. Tony just rolled his eyes at the smug look on Barton's face. He pulled out a cover from behind his back and swung it around in front Tony's nose, who snatched the item from his hand, moved to the TV and inserted the disk into the player. He switched it on and as Tony had suspected, it was a stupid comedy. Even Natasha sighed in frustration. Barton always picked the worst movies and Tony's fingers itched to wipe that stupid grin off his face. Now they just had to wait for Thor to pop up. Which took at least twenty more minutes. Tony had have enough with the title screen and skipped through the channels.

"Stop please." Natasha raised a hand for him to stop at the news channel and Tony groaned in annoyance at the topic.

"Is this the only topic you are interested these days..." Not really a question.

The woman hushed at him to be quite. It was an interview with locals about a certain god of mischief and how they didn't want him anywhere near their place. Tony just lay back and face palmed.

"You should do more PR..." He just glanced at the man for making this suggestion. "It might be not that bad of an idea. Maybe let him do some welfare work? It could change people's opinion."

Steve looked caught in thoughts and he blushed when his fellow Avengers stared at him in bewilderment. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Since when do you care, Capsicle?" He asked sceptically.

"I don't care for Loki, but it would be much less of a nuisance to have him around if he apologized to the people of New York." The last was said more quite. "And Stuttgart."

Tony got up and went to the kitchen to get a fresh bottle of scotch, scotch that was clean from Barton's slobber. He refilled his glass and looked at Steve.

"You know he would never agree to any of the things you propose, right?"

The blonde sighed. "Probably... How do you cope with the situation, Tony? You seemed pretty peeved when we last met." Curious eyes watched him from the couch while he made his way back.

"I was and am. But it..."

Tony was about to tell them that it wasn't so bad after all, when the sky darkened and the familiar sound of thunder flooded the room. Yeah, the god of thunder liked dramatic appearances. Fortunately for Tony, the thunderer rescued him from explaining why he didn't mind Loki being near him anymore, so he silently thanked Thor for his show.

It flashed and there he was, Thor, Mjölnir in hand, casually clothed like the rest of them, standing on the balcony of the Stark Tower. He didn't waste time and entered the penthouse, hugging the perplexed engineer and beaming like a child. Tony knew that kind of smile. He would have placed bets that Thor came from visiting Jane.

Just now he realized how sexually frustrated he himself was. Since Loki had moved in a few weeks ago, he just hadn't have time between work and the babysitting to go out and howl off some chic. Tony clenched his jaw at this train of thought. Yes, he really was desperate. Thor's voice jolted him awake.

"Man of Iron! How have you been?"

The man in front of him didn't wait for an answer, but greeted his other friends. Tony sat at his usual spot on the couch again and gestured for Thor to sit as well, but he scanned the surroundings before moving his gaze to Tony.

"Is my brother in his quarter? I need to see him."

Tony took a sip from his glass and switched the channel back to the title screen of the blu ray. Without looking at the blonde god he replied in an indifferent way.

"He is, but I wouldn't advise you to go anywhere near that room." This made Thor frown.

"I just want to make certain that he is well."

"And he told me that he doesn't want you around with this pitiful look of yours." He answered in an almost belligerent tone and couldn't quite explain why.

"I see."

Tony tried to calm his temper. "Just give it time, cheer up and he will get over this brother, not-brother thing eventually."

He wasn't exactly sure if that would ever be the case, but Thor finally moved to sit on the last empty seat and nodded. The whole quarrel with Loki really got down to him, but at least now his smile returned to his lips.

"At least he talks to you. I am glad for that. You seem to get along well." That made Tony choke on his scotch and blink in surprise.

"How do you come to that conclusion, Blondie?" He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "Definitely not the case."

His mildly annoyed face turned into a pissed one, when Clint snorted beside him. Eying the man with a look that could kill him, he growled.

"What?!"

Clint just laughed at him and shook his head. "Nothing." He managed to press out between laughing and gasping for air. "It's just that Banner told us how you two cuddled on the couch."

Tony opened his mouth to object, but nothing came out. What exactly did Bruce tell them? By the look of Steve's pale face he didn't know either.

"What...?" Steve looked like a deer in the headlights and sank back into his seat.

Both men just stared at each other for a minute before Natasha had mercy and elbowed Clint.

"He exaggerates. Banner just told us he saw you two casually talking."

She smiled at the speechless face of the billionaire. Steve sighed in relief and Tony asked himself why the captain cared so much at all. A well, maybe the thought of two men together made him uncomfortable, gramps sure wasn't used to the modern life and sexuality. So it made sense for him to look as if he had seen a ghost, imagining Tony and Loki on the couch, doing naughty stuff. Come to think of it, Tony wasn't as opposed by this thought as he should have been. Loki's silky skin on his sheets...

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. Apparently he was daydreaming again. Like so many times in the last couple of days. The god really went under his skin.

"So is it true?" Her blue eyes bore into his. "Are you two coming along?"

Tony grimaced and evaded her gaze. "Do you have no other gossip to care about?"

Clint grinned again. "I thought you like the attention."

The hunter really was unnerving today and if this evening was going to continue he really needed a higher blood alcohol level. So Tony just grumbled and chugged his glass, before he noticed that Thor smiled at him.

"Okay cut that smiling, or I will throw you out of my tower." A baffled expression replaced the smile of the blonde and even Clint bit back his snappy reply. "I have to watch this date movie flick, so please spare me with further chitchat and emotional crap."

This was directed to the assassins. Natasha seemed to consider it and stopped her teammate to say anything stupid in response to that. She really didn't like this movie genre either. When no one said a thing, Tony grabbed the remote and pressed play and regretted it the moment the intro wind up before him. Stupid comedy flick. This was bound to be one hell of a night.

* * *

Loki had withdrawn to his room before the Avengers had arrived. He really didn't need any contact with those people, especially with Thor or that hunter, so he sad down on his bed and stared out of the window.

The bruises had already faded away with time, but still, he grimaced when he thought about the last encounter. How Barton had beat him until he was on the ground, and not even his brother had helped him. It had always been like that though. Support was something he couldn't trust on. But Tony seemed to care.

They really spend much time together lately, and as much as he hated to admit, he was enjoying this time. Loki liked how easily he could knock the man out of his stride with the simplest gesture. Of course he had noticed how Tony looked at him ever since they bought new clothes. They weren't full of hate or disgust, like he thought them to be. No, there was sympathy and even desire in those strangely intriguing brown eyes of his.

The last few days Loki had tried to tickle the emotions out of Tony, teasing the man to reveal his true intentions. And Tony really wasn't subtle with his desires. It was easy for Loki to see through the mask of half-hearted lies and grumpiness that Tony displayed. He knew of Tony's reputation, the playboy, who might just be interested in him because it was wrong or because he couldn't or shouldn't have him. Yet still, the lust in the others eyes was contagious and it made Loki struggle with himself. They really were akin. They just wanted what they couldn't have.

But it was clear to Loki that the sudden interest would decrease when he got what he wanted. So why not enjoy the, actually welcomed, attention and irritate the playboy a bit. The word still amused Loki whenever he thought about it. Playboy. A boy to play with. He smiled to himself. An interesting thought indeed. Despite being imprisoned on Midgard, without any powers, in midst of his enemies, the meetings with Tony were the things he looked forward to. The man had managed to lift his mood with his little discussions about science and him competing with Loki's thousands years of knowledge.

And now the only person who kind of mattered to him was in the next room, apparently enjoying himself with his teammates. He didn't like it. Loki growled in annoyance when he heard the laughing from the living room. The sound ignited a hint of envy in him. Yes, Tony had invited him, more as a matter of courtesy than anything else, he guessed, but even if he wanted to spend time with Tony now, he wouldn't ever join those people in their inferior activities. He would not degrade himself that much.

So he kept sitting on his bed, regretting that he wasn't forward-thinking enough to bring books or that cube with him. Loki frowned and let himself fall back on the bed, closing his eyes to get some sleep, since there was nothing else to do. He tried to ignore the noises, but for some reasons, those voices and the laughing from the other room irritated him too much. So he just lay there for hours, thinking about what Tony and the others were doing, what they were talking about and everything else he normally wouldn't care about.

Growling, he tossed and turned on the bed, suddenly realizing how hungry he was and how furious it made him that he couldn't just walk out into the kitchen and get himself something to eat. He just wanted them gone, this whole waiting for them to leave was an ordeal in itself. A quick glance to the clock bugged him even more. It's been more than three hours and they still made so much noise.

Loki ran a hand over his face, before he had enough of this indolence and got up. Moving to the door, he opened it only a crack to peek outside, making sure that no one was in the corridor, before he slid through the door and sneaked towards the living room. Fortunately for him there just was a tight space from which he could be seen, but if he was fast enough...

"Loki!?"

Certainly that woman had to turn around in just this one fateful second. Some Asgardian swears rolled off his tongue, when suddenly the movie was paused and all eyes were on him. He ignored the whispering from the couch and went straight up to fridge. At least he didn't have to stealth anymore.

"Brother!"

The voice made Loki close his eyes in distress. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, before he was hauled into Thor's embrace.

"Let go, fool!" Loki hissed, fuming with rage, when he heard the giggling.

"I am glad you're well! Anthony already told us..."

The cheerful god was interrupted by a sneer. "What ever Stark told you, it is awry." Loki forced out between compressed lips.

Thor looked at him with those sorrowful, pleading eyes, that struck Loki with bewilderment and he rolled his eyes at the childishness in front of him. Always this puppy-eyes.

"Just leave me be."

The black haired god snatched a few snacks from the fridge and made his way back to were he came from. He shot an enraged, even betrayed look over to Tony, who just raised an eyebrow at him in return.

* * *

Loki was gone from sight and Tony released a sigh he didn't know he held. An awkward silence had engulfed the room. When Tony reached for the remote once again, he noticed the grin the assassin had on his lips.

"Wow, that stare." Barton stated.

"Nothing unusual." Tony ignored that taunting tone in his voice and tried to keep his calm.

"Really?" Natasha chipped in. "That was more like a death glare."

She was right, Tony knew. He was the one who was glared at, so how couldn't he had noticed. He wasn't sure why Loki acted as if Tony told them some baby-stories of his or something. Tony just couldn't make any sense of the god sometimes. It was tiresome and he had a hunch that Loki's mood would be at rock bottom for the next few days.

"Why do you look so down? Trouble in paradise?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes at Clint, who just laughed, but didn't continue to tease the engineer. Tony growled in frustration and pressed play again, hopefully to shut up the people around him.

When the third movie of this evening ended, two more bottles of scotch were empty and it was two am in the morning. Tony was still awake, unlike Thor and Barton who apparently had enough alcohol and fell asleep during the last movie. Tony still wondered how many bottles Thor had to drink until he was out cold.

Barton leaned against his female companion, who looked as bored as Tony himself and shot him dull smile, while she brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. Tony smiled at this gentle gesture, which was so different from her usual attire. Always strong and independent, but when no one was looking she could be caring and tender. And Tony knew they had something going on. He high-fived himself mentally. A yawn drew his attention to the captain, who was barely sitting anymore.

"Okay, it's late. You should go." Tony stood, unsteady, but still. He offered Steve a hand, who gladly took the help, and hauled him to his feet. "We have to wake Blondie."

Both men looked at the sleeping Asgardian, snorting like a lawnmower. Steve moved a hand over his face, deep circles around the eyes and his hair all messy. He really was a grandpa after all.

"This is like a Herculean task."

While the two men tried their best to wake the god, Natasha had woken up Clint, who just slurred incomprehensible things and holding on to her even more, when they made their way off the couch. Steve had to literally shake Thor, before consciousness came back to the blonde and he was able to stand straight. Without much hesitation, Tony guided his guests to the elevator and almost had to shove the blonde, drowsy god inside.

"Normally I would say, hey let's repeat that, but well... only if Barton get's a better taste. That was torture."

The fake smile made Natasha nod in agreement and Clint grumble beside her.

"You just don't know what's good, Stark." He slurred, when Tony pressed the button and the doors shut between them.

For a good minute he just stood there, enjoying the silence, finally being alone after this fraught night. He strolled down the corridor, yearning for some sleep, until he reached the door to Loki's room. For a quick moment he thought about just moving on, forget about the look of betrayal, of hurt, that the god has shot him a few hours back, but he couldn't. So he knocked. One time, no reaction. After the third time, still no reaction, and Tony thought himself a fool for even trying to archive anything at this hour. When he turned to leave, a small sound was heard from behind him, the unlocking of the door. Tony shot a glance over his shoulder to see a majorly pissed god peek through the crack.

"What?!"

Loki must have been asleep. The long, black hair was ruffled and strands were falling over his face. Tony ignored the urge to brush it behind his ears. After a few minutes without both of them not saying anything, Loki was about to close the door again and not be bothered by the engineer anymore, but Tony woke from his "stare-at-Loki-trance" in time to place a foot between the door hinge. Annoyed by the persistence of the man, who was apparently more than half-drunk, so Loki repeated his question, this time more calmly.

"What?" He sighed.

"Just want to talk about that face you pulled back then."

He looked tired and vulnerable, he obviously had resigned to his fate that Tony wouldn't go away, until he had talked to him.

"What about it?" The god tried to stifle a yawn, covering it with his free hand.

"You pulled a scene."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't talk behind my back, then."

It was said in the most indifferent voice, he could pull off in this situation. Tony tsked and face palmed at this.

"I wasn't..." Looking for the right words, the leaned against the door frame and closed his eyes. "They were making fun of me, because Banner saw us together and I just told them we don't care about each other and..."

The look Loki gave him made him shutter. The mixture of hurt and betrayal again. Those piercing eyes stared right into his soul.

"Because we don't..."

Tony didn't know what to answer to that, because hell, he did like that bastard. It was something he had admitted to himself. And now he said the words that should made everything easier for him, that Loki didn't care a bit, if it wasn't for that hurt tone in his voice, which made Tony's heart sting.

"Yeah..." Tony averted his gaze.

"I won't interfere again with your activities. My apologies."

"You don't..."

He sighed, grabbed the gods wrist, pulling him out of the room with him and pinning him against the next wall. Loki could feel Tony's hot breath on his neck. The man was too close for him to be able to think straight.

"I told you, you could join."

Tony's voice sounded more like a purr than anything else and the sound of it made it hard for Loki to focus on what he was saying. Loki tried to evade the man's advances, but Tony just followed the movement and pressed his body against the god's. A low growl escaped Tony's throat when he ground his crotch against Loki's, who gasped at the sudden touch. Tony giggled at the reaction, mesmerized by seeing the god embarrassed and out of breath, so he repeated his gesture and this time, Loki wasn't able to suppress a moan at the sensation. His green eyes were shut and Tony moved back to breath into his ear, causing the god to shiver again.

"But no, you have to write your own tragedy. Because of sibling rivalry or pride, I don't know."

Tony threw his hands up in defeat, before he took one step back, turned and moved to his own bedroom.

"If you want to hang out, why not just ask."

A smug smile was dancing on his lips when he cast a last glance over his shoulder to see the god completely confused. Yes, it was indeed fun not being on the receiving end of the play.

* * *

Loki stared in bewilderment at Tony. His body was rendered useless, his heart pounding like mad, when he slid down the wall. He swallowed the lump in his throat and closed his eyes once more, trying to ignore the aching bulge in his pants. The man exited him more than he would like to admit. And now he left him high and dry.

Loki laughed silently. Well played. He heaved himself up from the ground, moving into his room again and closed the door. The man was inscrutable. And still, despite the humiliation of being toyed with by a drunken mortal and left alone with his needs, he felt good. He shouldn't, but he did. He laughed bitterly to himself, ran a hand over his face and moved to his bed to get under the covers again. It was frustrating how Tony was able to do this to him so easily. It really shouldn't be this way, but that man, not just his looks or those brown eyes. No, Loki was intrigued by his whole way of behaving, his attitude and the way of thinking. Too much to be healthy for his sanity, or what was left of it. He doubted that he was able to sleep anymore this night, too many thoughts running through his head and arousal stirring in his groin, but he tried nonetheless.

* * *

_Review please =)_


	11. Chapter 11: Redirection

_A/N: Okay I just throw this at you now, because man I don't have time anymore, and gosh I just have to publish this now. SO yeah: WARNING: SMUT. MUCH SMUT- and there will be more lol. You might have to wait a bit longer for the next chapter, i am writing it right now, but dunno when I'll finish it. And I'm sorry Loki. I really am. But yeah, hope you'll enjoy the SMUT!_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Redirection**

When Tony woke up the morning after, he felt like crap, again, not because of the alcohol but because of his own stupidity. Did he really grind against Loki like a fucking desperate teenager? He face palmed at the memories from the previous night and sighed.

How was he going to explain this. Maybe he should act as if nothing happened. Or trick the god into believing that he just made fun of him. Both lies, obviously. Not even he himself would believe this. Tony groaned. Ignoring wasn't an option, either. Loki made that clear the last time Tony thought of ignoring him. This was bound to be a disastrous day.

Tony took a few more seconds to enjoy the warmth of his bed, before he finally got up and moved to take a shower. Discarding his boxer on the floor, he stepped into the shower stall and turned the water on. The hot water ran over his aching muscles, soothing the tension and let relaxation replace the stress from the previous day. Tony closed his eyes and turned his face under the stream.

He stood there for a few minutes, trying to not think about anything, but whenever he closed his eyes, there was the always the same picture in his mind. Yesterday. The god of mischief pressed against the wall, flushed against his body, looking at him with those eyes. Those god damned eyes. He remembered every little detail. Loki's smell, when he whispered into his ear, those little noises he made, when Tony rubbed against him and not just his, but also the god's obvious erection.

He was so close to ripping his clothes apart and taking him right there in the corridor. There were so many thing he wanted to do in this situation and it had cost him much self-control to walk away from the temptation. He didn't want to. He wanted to kiss him, run his hand through his silky hair and place kisses over the marble like skin. Loki was perfect in every way. It made the man shiver. That lean, toned body, his hands exploring every inch of it, drawing the sweetest noises from the god, making him whimper wantonly.

God, what was he doing to himself. This was torture. He forced his eyes open again and leaned his head against one of the shower walls. It was harder and harder to keep Loki out of his thoughts. This was not the first time he thought about moving out on his desires. His hand slipped down to touch his cock. Damn him for reducing him to this. He was so hard from just thinking about him, his member already throbbing in his hand, precum covering the head before he even started to pump himself lazily. Images of Loki flooded his mind again, that smooth skin flushed against his, kiss-swollen lips moaning, screaming his name when he came.

Tony was panting hard against the wall, running his thumb over the head of his length. He was loosing himself in those fantasies and it felt so good. The almost too hot water burning his skin added to the sensation. Loki's mouth on his cock, tongue darting out to run over the sensitive head, his eyes looking up at Tony, a smirk on his lips, while he swallowed him down to the hilt. The most glorious sight he could imagine. The god on his knees, sucking him off with pleasure. Tony's cock jerked at the thought.

"Oh god..."

He couldn't remember when the last time was that someone exited him like this. Tony bit his lips. He wanted to do all kind of dirty things to the god, he wanted to take him, making him cum over and over again, hearing him with that sexy voice of his, moaning in ecstasy while Tony thrusted inside him, aiming for his prostate. Leaving him sore and pleased in his bed.

Damn, he could hear him screaming in his head, taste him on his tongue. His breathing went unsteady as he pumped his aching cock faster and his orgasm started to build.

"Fuck."

He kept his eyes tightly shut and let out a low growl when the waves of pleasure ran through him and he came over his hand. His other arm was on the wall, supporting his weight, while he tried to regain his strength. He was shivering and panting from the aftermath of his orgasm, still imagining those green eyes on him.

"Damn, Loki..." He hissed.

Uncomfortable with this whole situation. The god had too much influence on his life and now not even his personal time was spared from thought about him. Tony slammed a fist against the wall he hold on to and cursed under his breath. This wasn't good at all. Not only that the god would never reciprocate his... feelings, but even if he did, this was just so wrong. Tony didn't even like the word feelings, there was no sentiment here, it was more like simple need. He needed him by his side, needed to touch him, kiss him, make Loki's body quiver under him by the sheer amount of pleasure he would let him experience. God, he had to stop thinking about this, before he got hard again. The pain in his hand helped him to focus on finishing his shower rather than on any more distracting thoughts.

* * *

When Tony entered the living room shortly afterwards, an unfamiliar sight greeted him. Loki was on the couch, watching TV as it seemed. Tony wouldn't have thought that the god would enjoy such an all too human activity. For a moment he just stood there watching in awe. Loki was clearly drawn in by the program, he didn't even notice Tony approaching, until he was standing right behind him, eying what exactly kept the man so occupied. It was a documentary about space and he wondered why he was so interested in it, when the god himself traveled realms as if it were a Sunday stroll.

"You like to sneak up on other people, Tony?" Loki teased, not even bothering to avert his gaze from the TV.

Okay, apparently he was wrong about the not noticing part and the sudden words made his hair stand on end. Especially the way he said his name, with that purr-like tone in his voice, made Tony melt inside. Every word which dripped from his tongue just sounded like seduction, the god could talk about the weather or a possible attack on earth, he didn't care, just the sound of him talking was addicting enough.

"Are you sober again?"

It was just now, that Tony noticed the god staring at him with a cocked eyebrow. A smug smile playing on his lips. Ah, the million dollar question. Tony really had waited for him to bring it up.

"Yeah about that..."

The playful smile was wiped from Loki's face and he stood abruptly, towering over Tony, who was suddenly reminded on how intimidating the god could be.

"I don't care for your excuses." The indifferent look vanished and changed into a warning one. "Don't toy with me."

Tony just nodded and wondered how he should interpret this. Did he want him sober when he hit on him, or did he want nothing to do with what happened yesterday? Well, that bulge did tell another story.

"Yeah well, sorry about the mocking, princess." Tony tried to suppress a laughter, which drew an annoyed groan from the taller man. Loki rolled his eyes and sat down again.

"You mortals are so tiresome. It's hurts my intellect." He messaged his temples and Tony just didn't know what to reply. "Always this hither and thither, it's so tedious. You creatures can't even be earnest with yourselves."

Tony just stared at the back of his head with an unimpressed expression.

"And this tells me the god of mischief. Yeah right. Aren't you supposed to lie whenever you open your mouth?"

Loki laughed. Delighted by the man's change of subject and self-deceiving nature. He faced Tony again, green eyes shining with satisfaction when he saw that baffled face.

"You know." He began and shifted so he could see him more easily. "The thing with lies is, everyone will know it is falsehood, if you always keep on lying." A mischievous smile graced his lips. "That's why you have to weave in as much truth as possible into every lie. So it becomes believable."

Tony didn't quite catch why the god told him that, so Loki took mercy on this poor man and explained further.

"You see, even if I lie, I am always telling the truth. Especially when the stupidity of mortals are involved. I don't have to lie about that."

The amused grin of Loki was answered by Tony's grimace of pure irritation. Tony narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. His brain was apparently too slow today.

"So, let me get that right. You just told me, I should never trust anything you say?"

Loki closed his eyes, amusement written all over his face. "That took longer than I expected." He sneered at the man, and turned back to watch TV. "I am just telling you, that even I am more honest than you, as it seems."

Tony thought about this. The god knew. Of course he did, how much more obvious could he have been. He couldn't just blame that little alcohol for his doings. But why did the god tell him all this, it almost seemed as if he really wanted Tony to act out on his... needs. Or he lied, and tricked Tony. And then murder him in his sleep. This send a shiver over Tony's skin. Well damn. He wanted to trust him, but how could he when Loki still had that smug smile on his lips. That bastard knew what was going through his mind. When did he become so transparent? He cursed again.

"Language." Loki hissed and Tony rolled his eyes again. The man was conditioning him. Like a dog.

"So back to the topic, you're so desperate you have to watch TV?" Loki frowned at this.

"Well, I remember you promised me more books."

Tony pressed his mouth into a thin line. He had indeed forgot about this. With a sigh he got a small tablet device out of his pocket and flipped it onto the god's lap.

"Here."

The god examined the thing in his hands and shot a confused glance over to the engineer.

"If I do recall correctly, I am not allowed to possess any sort of electrical device." He raised an eyebrow. "So why do you give this to me?" The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "Don't tell me you trust me to not summon my army with this."

Tony really had enough playing around for today, so he just stared at Loki with a straight face until the god started to chuckle.

"No."

Loki raised his gaze to those brown eyes again and waited for an explanation. Tony sighed, he couldn't look at that brilliant green anymore.

"This thing doesn't have a w-LAN adapter, so no E.T. Calling home for you." Tony praised himself for this witty remark, but judged by the confusion on Loki's face, the reference totally defeated the purpose. "It's a movie about an alien, smart ass."

Loki just signed in fake resignation and fumbled with the tablet again. Tony observed him for a moment, thinking the god, with all his knowledge would be able to figure it out on his own, but apparently now he was lost with the key lock.

"Oh for fuck's sake."

He sighed and sat down beside him, their fingers brushing against each other, when Tony took the pad out of his hands. He could smell the unmistakable scent of fresh rain again and hear his heart beating in his ears, just by sitting next to him like this. Actually, this was the exact situation he wanted to avoid. Close to the one thing he desired most at the moment, really tugged on his nerves.

His voice turned into an uncharacteristically softer, almost gentle one, when he showed the god how to operate the lock and the system software, showed him the applications for the e-books and some designing programs. And for the whole time, Loki gave him his best attention, which was pleasantly surprising for Tony to say the least, but he didn't expect the god to lean over to him so close. Tony was able to see all those small details in the other man's face, long eyelashes and those lips. On second glance Tony noticed little scars all over his them, on both top and bottom lip, it hurt him in a way it shouldn't. He bit down the urge to ask Loki about it.

Tony then pressed the pad back into Loki's hands, got up from the couch and turned to leave towards his workshop. A small "Thank you." was thrown his way, before he reached the stairs and he couldn't help but smile. Gratitude was something the god didn't give out lightly.

* * *

Tony had been in his workshop for hours again, trying to get the design for his infrasound bomb right, but it didn't work out as planned. Nothing seemed to fit right, just like everything work related since Loki had moved in. It was as if the only thing his brain cared about anymore was the raven-haired god.

Frustrated with himself and the world, Tony played with his phone, surprised to see a message from Banner on the display.

_Hello, I wanted to ask if it's okay to come by in a few days. Just checking in to use the laboratory. Shield's too nosy._

Tony was actually impressed. Bruce wasn't the one for smart phones, so it was a big step forward for him to even write a message. Tony just grinned and wrote a short reply back.

_Sure, Mean and Green. You're always welcome_.

The next hour Tony spend with looking up to the ceiling, talking to Jarvis and browsing the internet. But whatever he tried to occupy his brain with, his thoughts always ending up at the same track. Loki. Tony had his head in his hands and groaned in exasperation. There wasn't a way to distract him at all. Everything he could think of was making out with the god of mischief. Excellent example of thinking with one's dick. And this meant another night dreaming of pressing that body into his sheets and waking up with a raging hard-on. Unless there was a way to redirect his sex drive. So Tony closed down his workshop and sneaked out to pick up some random woman.

* * *

Loki was genuinely impressed with the little thing Tony had given him. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even turn the thing down for more than half a minute. Tony had installed books and science papers on it, most of it not really of his interest, but everything was better than documentaries about deep space theories and those pregnant teenagers.

He also used the time to work on something for Tony. The tablet had old models of his newest invention, that bomb, on it, and Loki played around with the internal design for the last couple of hours. He would show it to the man the next time he saw him, brag about how it was superior to the previous blueprint. He chuckled to himself, could see the man's irritated and angered face in his mind. Loki narrowed his eyes. Actually there wasn't a time these days when Tony was not on his mind and it bugged him. Especially after the last night's incident.

It was something that didn't want to affect his head. How could a mere mortal, granted, a genius, but still, make him feel like this. It had been ages since he was lastly drawn to a single individual like this. An itch that couldn't be scratched. Tony's intentions were clear after his advances from the day before and he wasn't going to deny that the attraction was mutual. Because it was. If he hadn't been so stunned by the man's sudden change in behavior, maybe this night had ended differently.

He smiled at this thought. This was the most evil thing he could actually do to the Avengers. Seducing and misleading the glorious Iron Man, betraying his team by sleeping with his enemy. And he would enjoy it. Seeing Thor and the others broken was desirable, but this wasn't the main reason for him to play with this man. It was just for his personal pleasure.

Loki kept thinking about how this situation would play out between them, until he heard noises from the living room. He quickly glanced at the time display. Tony came back late, nothing unusual for the man. The god stood, a thrill of anticipation moving through him when he moved to the door, tablet still in hand, to show it off to the engineer.

He opened the door and stepped outside and was nearly knocked down by an unknown female figure. Loki pushed the female of off him and growled at her.

"Who are you, woman?!"

He towered above her, grinding his teeth, barely restraining from going on her throat. The brunette-haired woman stared at him in shock, not knowing what to say, just standing there open-mouthed. Loki hissed in annoyance.

"Your stupidity is yet to be matched, mortal." He seized her by her collar and looked her eyes, baring his teeth. "Are you too dim-witted to even answer this simple question? What are you doing here."

Still no answer. The woman just whimpered and began to sob. The god rolled his eyes. A sudden voice made him look up and furrow his brows in disbelieve at the sight. There was Tony, casually leaning on the wall at the end of the corridor.

"Leave her be, Rudolph."

Loki growled at the nickname, but loosing his grip on the woman, who instantly took a few steps back into Tony's embrace. The god observed the scene, Tony willingly let her fall into his arms and it made Loki burning with rage inside.

"Explain, now. Why is this worthless piece of filth here?" The words were pressed out, fuming with anger, not asking, but demanding an answer from the man. "Who is this, Stark?"

The woman looked up to Tony for help, but he just shrugged and turned to speak to her.

"Would you go on ahead. Last door."

He gave her a clap on the ass to make her move. Loki death-glared at her when she passed him. He felt betrayed. The man just used him for his appetite and was now replacing him with this cheap whore. He should have seen that coming, given his reputation. Tony made his way over to the god, all the time glared at by him.

"I didn't think I needed permission to hook up with someone."

This made Loki clench his jaw. This was the kind of disrespect he normally would punish with death, or worse.

"What? You angry? Jealous, what is it?" Tony was barely an inch away, staring right into the taller one's eyes, who just glared back with the same intensity. "Didn't know it was your business who I fuck."

Loki noticed the man licking his lips. Again he was playing around. Trying to get a reaction from him. When Tony moved forward to close the distance between them, almost touching the other's lips, the god was quick to shove him away. The man was carrying matters too far.

"You can do that to your whore."

The god's voice came out more outraged than he had ever heard it and he threw the tablet on the ground, right before the man's feet. Loki shot one last glance at the now startled man and stomped into his room, slamming the door shut. He sank down on the other side of the door, running a hand over his face. Was this how low Tony thought of him? A replacement? So much anger, just because the man, successfully, provoked him on purpose. He had seen through the act, sure, but it wasn't easing the pain of the betrayal. He should have just turned around and let him play his little game, but no. Loki laughed bitterly at himself, overreacting like some jealous girl.

* * *

Tony cursed. That was not the thing he had planned for. The god looked disgusted with him, seething with rage. How could he have been so stupid. It was his fault if the fragile bond with Loki was now destroyed beyond repair. Why was it that he always did the exact opposite of what he wanted. He didn't want the woman in his bed, he wanted Loki. Yet still he took her home. She was the replacement. And now she waited in his bedroom.

Tony looked at the damaged tablet at his feet and gathered it from the ground. A look over it made him heave a sigh. He was a dick and he wanted to slap himself for it. The display showed the solution to his bomb layout problem, perfectly processed into a new set of blueprints. A small greeting was written under the design.

_It seems you could use my help again, Tony._

Damn it. The god worked to help him with this and he just figuratively spat into his face. Tony ran a hand through his hair and murmured into his beard. He should go apologize. He really shouldn't go after the girl, he should send her away, shouldn't even have invited her in the first place. He clawed at the pad in his hands, when the female voice sounded behind him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear, luring the man into his own bedroom.

* * *

Once again Tony woke up when it was already dark outside. His stomach protested, he hadn't really ate anything during the last day. Drugged with sleep, he moved out of bed, put on his shirt and jeans from the day before and made his way into the kitchen, not even bothering to turn the lights on. He made himself a sandwich, one of the only dishes he knew how to make without paying much attention to it, and strolled back towards his bedroom. The thought of going to bed with that woman still laying there was terrifying and he really considered just sleeping in his workshop until she buggered off.

Just in the moment Tony passed the door to Loki's room, it flipped open and glowing green eyes stared at him with intensity, that made him shiver. He wanted to open his mouth to speak, but was caught off guard when the god grabbed him by his collar, dragging him into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Don't talk." It was an order and Tony couldn't think,he just had to obey.

The god was rough, yanked him onto the bed and towered over him, almost looking as if he examined his prey. Tony was shocked by this whole change in demeanor and his heart started to race when the god suddenly straddled his lap and gripped his neck, pressing him into the mattress with almost inhuman force. Just now Tony noticed that the only thing Loki wore was an oversized shirt, basically sitting naked on his lap.

"God..."

A smirk formed on Loki's lips and he looked down on Tony through half lidded, lustful eyes. This sight alone could have brought him over the edge. It was then that the god above him moved his hips, grinding against the man's crotch, drawing a moan from him. Loki grabbed Tony's shirt and ripped it apart, giving him space to trail fingers over the sensitive flesh just above the waistband. Tony shuddered under the ministrations, trying to get the man above him to move and produce the sweet friction again, but Loki held him still with his weight.

He leaned down, planting small kisses to the man's stomach, tracing the abs with his tongue, the body beneath him shuddering. Loki decided to play a bit longer, teasing a nipple, flicking his tongue over and biting it, until the man moaned into his ear. Tony felt Loki's length pressing against his stomach, slick with precum and heard the god above him panting. They were face to face now, Loki sucking on his neck, before he bit down hard into Tony's shoulder, making him hiss in pain.

Normally the pain and the mischievous grin following would have likely put him off, but now it was just another major turn on. His pants were already too tight, and with Loki grinding against him, he had to watch out to not just come into his jeans. Tony followed the god's movement with his eyes by the time he raised himself from his lap, now kneeling above him and licking his lips. Tony might never have seen anything more sexy in his life and he shifted nervously under the god in anticipation of what to come.

His gaze wandered over Loki's body, his elegant features, those slender hips and his dick, standing proudly in the air. He raised a hand, he wanted to touch him, smear the precum over his head, making the god moan in pleasure. But his hand were caught in the middle of the movement and pressed down beside him again. A growl escaped the taller man's throat. Tony was completely taken aback by this, but complied by not touching and laying still, even if this was not an easy task. This had apparently something to do with dominance and if it went on like this, he would play along.

He was dragged from his thoughts when a hand cupped him through his jeans. Tony shut his eyes and moaned, pressing into the touch, bucking his hips to get more friction. A chuckle was heard above him.

"So wanton, boy."

He was purring and the voice almost drove Tony over the edge. Loki unzipped his pants, freeing the straining cock and Tony hissed at the touch of bare fingers roaming over his length.

"My god..." He managed to press out.

"Yes, I am."

Loki grinned and started pumping, using his second hand to run a finger over the sensitive head, making Tony throw his head back. The god obviously liked what he saw and he took joy in torturing the man beneath him, slowing down whenever he was close and Tony groaned, at some point annoyed by the man playing with him.

He wanted to protest, but the words kept stuck in his mouth when he saw Loki positioning himself over him. Without warning, Loki impaled himself on his cock, black strands of hair falling over his face when he dropped his head and supported himself on Tony's stomach. Tony had shut his eyes, overwhelmed by the sensation of Loki around him, too hot and tight and he wasn't daring to move or look at all, fearing he would come the second he'd laid eyes on him.

Still, he opened his eyes after a few seconds of adjusting, looking up into the intense face of the god. His eyes were closed, he was panting and Tony imagined it was pain which contorted the god's features, before Loki started to move his hips in a slow, but steady rhythm, throwing over Tony's trail of thought. His expression turned into a lustful one and he opened his eyes to stare at Tony with a smirk, intensifying his movements. He raised his hips, letting the cock almost slip out of him and slammed back down, throwing his head back when Tony hit his prostate.

If he continued like this, Tony wasn't going to hold out long. He knew, so he bucked his hips to meet Loki's rhythm, aiming for this sweet spot, drawing sweet whimpers from the god. It would have been easier for Tony if he could have touched the god and helped him ride him to orgasm, but Loki wouldn't let him touch him. Drops of sweat were forming on the god's forehead and Tony just watched him ride him in pure ecstasy, moaning and shuddering each time the cock entered him. Loki's hand grabbed his own cock, throbbing noticeably in his hand, stroking himself in time with his moving. Tony felt his orgasm start to build and bit his lips, raising a hand to keep Loki from rocking his hips.

"Loki..."

He almost pleaded to the god above him, but wasn't able to stop him. Loki was lost in the moment, rocking down on Tony's cock one last time, yelling out in pleasure when he came over his hand and the man's stomach. Tony gasped and let out a low growl when Loki clenched and tightened around him, driving him over the edge, made him cum inside him and melting his cock for every last drop. This was like no orgasm he ever had before and Tony tried to catch his breath, still shaking from his high. Loki looked at him through half-lidded eyes, bowing down to him and pressed his lips to Tony's. They were as soft as he imagined them to be and he closed his eyes, returning the tender gesture.

The next thing Tony knew was he found himself sitting in his bed, soaked in sweat and with a raging hard-on. He held his head in his hands and groaned in annoyance. Of course it had to be a dream. How else could he make out with the god of mischief. A shifting noise brought his attention back to the now, he peeked out from under his hands and noticed the figure beside him. It couldn't be. Tony moved to have a better look and soon regretted the decision. Something was seriously wrong with him.

This was the girl from the night before, he had fucked her, and normally his libido would be satisfied for at least a day, but now it was different. After having sex he wasn't supposed to have wet dreams, especially not dreams involving Loki. Tony was frustrated to say the least. The replacement didn't work as planned, it just made things worse apparently. The woman beside him shifted again and he averted his gaze. It was already dawning outside, light shining through the gaps of the window shutters. He felt arms sliding around his waist, but he moved out of the embrace before she could really hug him. Tony got up from the bed and dressed in simple jeans and shirt, not even deign to look at her.

"I will go to work. You will be gone in an hour. Feel free to call a cab."

She really didn't know what was happening, but before she could answer, Tony was gone from the room.

Tony just did mindless works, customized his new mask for the suit, welded things together, really anything to keep him from thinking. After about two more hours of work, he wanted to know if this woman was finally gone.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir." The AI replied instantly.

"Could you check if our guest from last night left." Tony played with a pencil.

"I can confirm that she left the building sixty-three minutes ago." He heaved a sigh of relief. "Sir, may I suggest you get yourself some food. You didn't ingest nourishment within the last twenty-four hours."

Sometimes Jarvis was like an overly attached girlfriend, or a grandma, but he had a point. Just by thinking about eating his stomach growled in response.

"You know what? This is actually a good suggestion."

It almost seemed as if the AI was proud of himself. "I took liberty to order something up for you. It must be here in a few minutes."

The man shock his head at this and had to praise himself for programming Jarvis like this. "I love when you read my mind, Jarvis."

"Always, Sir."

* * *

Just like Jarvis had promised, there was someone with food in their hands at the glass door of his workshop. But Tony didn't expected the god to stand there, arms full of plastic bags, an irritated expression on his face. Tony stormed to the door, the apology for yesterday's dilemma already formulating inside his brain, typed in the code for the lock and held the door open for him to come in.

Loki moved straight to the workbench and placed the bags of Italian food on top of the piles of documents lying around.

"Hey..."

Tony scratched the back of his neck when Loki turned around to face him, brows furrowed and mouth pressed to a thin line.

"What ever it is your imbecility came up with, I don't want to hear it."

Tony looked like a deer in the headlights, but when the god wanted to pass him, he grabbed him by the wrist and span him around.

"No, just please. Just for once, listen to me."

The god glared at him contemptuously and looked to his hand, seemingly displeased with the contact, but did nothing to break free.

"I am tired of you using me as an occupational therapy, replacement and now, delivery boy." Tony rolled his eyes.

"I just wanted to apologize."

The god cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "For what exactly?"

There was an amused tone in his voice and Tony knew that the god was about to draw this out to bug him.

"For me being snippy and you... well... feeling like, whatever it is you're feeling." He finally released the god's wrist and averted his gaze.

"So, that woman..."

Tony turned to face Loki again, swallowed down the limp in his throat and coughed. Being earnest was too much of a task, but this really couldn't go on like this. Loki knew how he felt, this was exactly why the god was so pissed with him yesterday and he had expected him to be, hoped for him to be jealous, but he didn't want him to be furious anymore. The god already turned to leave the workshop when he decided to talk.

"She..." Loki paused, but didn't turn around. "She was the replacement."

Tony was embarrassed with himself. Admitting something to anyone was not his style, but he needed to get this off his chest. There was silence between them, and Tony really wanted to hear him saying something, but he just continued walking to the door. Tony could see his face, he was not furious anymore, but apparently pleased with the answer. A chuckle followed the smirk.

"I see." With this he left the baffled man alone.

Tony clenched his jaw. This bastard really had some nerves to leave him standing here like this. Especially with that dirty smile on his face, after he heard the answer he wanted to hear. Tony wouldn't let himself get toyed with anymore. Since he now knew the god held the same kind of interest in him, it would be easy for him to make Loki lose his composure. He grinned to himself. This was the moment Tony declared war on the god of mischief. The play time was officially over.

* * *

_Okay hope you liked it =) If you did, please review!_


	12. Chapter 12: Revelation

_A/N: Wuh, hey there, it was a hard week for me, but I finally finished the next chapter! Thanks again for the reviews guys, I really appreciate them. By the way, if you like me to answer you, I could do that, I just thought I might spam your inbox, so yeah, if you want an answer, just tell me!. So yeah. Tony and Loki finally get it on ;) so warning: SMUT. And I like them both as top!, we'll see how that goes. So yeah, enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Revelation**  
This was definitely more amusing than he thought it would be. Tony grinned at himself when he wrote something down on the paper.

_Describe the captive's activities _He snorted and wrote._ Eating, sleeping and bullshitting._

Fury sure will have his fun with this report. And that's what you get when you send documents via mail to Tony Stark. Really, why didn't the man send things per e-mail. Tony just wrote a few more smug remarks, before he put down the pen and examined his masterpiece. Paperwork indeed could be fun after all. The familiar voice of Jarvis pulled him from the report.

"Sir, Ms. Potts is on her way to the Stark Tower. I was instructed to wake you in case you were sleeping again."

Tony rolled his eyes. Pepper sometimes thought too little of him. He looked to his watch. 1 pm. Well okay, he had to admit that he could be still asleep at this time of the day.

"Thanks Jarvis." he said, setting the report neatly to the side, pushed himself up from his chair and closed down the lab to rush into the living room.

* * *

Loki was at his usual spot on the kitchen counter, eating what Tony recognized as Toast with poached eggs and he quickly wondered when Loki had learned to cook himself proper food. Tony couldn't keep the smirk from forming on his lips and strolled towards the god. This time it was his turn to play games.

"Morning, sweetheart." He beamed and sat down right next to Loki, who just eyed him sceptically.

"Noon."

Before Loki knew what the man was up to, his second egg-toast was stolen from his plate and shoved into the man's mouth. Loki just looked at the man eating his breakfast with the most indifferent look, before he groaned in annoyance. Tony smiled at him.

"It's so nice of you cooking me breakfast."

The god rolled his eyes at the behavior, but shoved the plate towards Tony, who was flabbergasted by the gesture. He had expected more of a struggle, but gladly took the food. For some strange reason, Tony knew it was because of yesterday's conversation, the god was not so easily aggravated than usually. So Tony decided on pushing his luck today.

"So..." The words seemed to attract the god's attention. "You accepted my apology?"

He grinned at Loki, who just sighed in response. Tony leaned in on him and lay a hand on the other's shoulder.

"You know I could totally make up for your trouble." He breathed against Loki's ear, feeling the man shutter from it.

"You think you could keep pace with me, Tony?" The god had turned to face him, a spark of amusement in those brilliant green eyes.

Tony leaned back, but trailed his hand over the god's shoulders, touching the silky black hair in the motion. They grinned at each other for a few seconds, before the elevator made noise and Pepper made her way into the living room, an eyebrow raised at them, when she came into sight. Both men straightened themselves and turned to face her.

"Pep, how are you? What does you bring here?" The engineer offered a small smile, but didn't move an inch. She still had the same strange expression on her face.

"I'm fine, Tony. And I just have a few things to tell you and boss you around with." She patted her handbag. "You two seem to get along?"

The question had a unbelieving tone in it, as if it was not possible for them to actually not kill each other.

"I'm glad Tony did take you to shopping. The clothes really suit you." She suddenly addressed Loki, who just grinned at the compliment. Tony had to roll his eyes at the arrogant look on his face.

"Pep, don't feed his ego anymore. It's already as big as the tower." Loki just shook his head at the man.

"So, how are you Mr. Laufeyson?" she asked with more content in her voice. "Are you able to endure his kinks?" She gestured towards Tony.

Loki opened his mouth to respond, but the smug response got stuck in his throat, when he felt Tony's hand on his thigh. He inhaled sharply and shot the man a bewildered look, just to earn a perfectly innocent smile from him. Loki had to remind himself to actually answer the woman in front of him and shook his head to clear the sudden daze.

"Yes, I am quite fine. Thank you Ms. Potts." He pressed through his teeth and faked a smile, not knowing how else to react.

"Good." was the only answer she gave, then she stood, moved to the couch and got a few papers from her handbag, placing them neatly on the table and taking a last look through them.

Loki took the opportunity to hiss at the man besides him.

"What do you think you're doing." He whispered with bared teeth.

Tony leaned in, but kept watching Pepper from the corner of his eyes.

"I thought you liked playing around."

The god gasped when the hand moved higher on his thigh and stilled his movement when Pepper was on the way back to them. Loki didn't like the grin on Tony's lips and he tried to ignore the sensation of the hand on his leg.

"Okay Tony, just a few more things." She started but was interrupted.

"Come on, grab some coffee or something, you look tired, at half past one. We can discuss everything after you had some caffeine."

She ran a hand through her hair and nodded. Tony knew that the economic situation was tight at the moment, so he used that to his advantage. Right when Pepper turned to the coffee machine, Tony squeezed the god's thigh ones more, making the man curse under his breath.

"You could just stand up." He teased. "Or tell Pepper what I am doing to you."

The reaction Tony got was not what he had expected. The god chuckled and leaned in, this time he was whispering into Tony's ear.

"Where would be the fun in this?"

He smiled mischievously and placed his palm on Tony's knee. Damn trickster, Tony thought, not noticing that Pepper sat in front of them once more and started talking. He had trouble to suppress a laugh, attention completely focused on the hand on his thigh, which was moving teasingly around in circles.

"You didn't listen again." The voice pulled Tony's attention from the hand to her again.

"Sorry Pep, you know I'm not up to anything productive in the morning."

Loki snorted next to him, which earned him an annoyed look.

"Morning... Yes. So the whole day seems to be morning." She stated and sipped on her coffee. "You finally got the concept!" Tony said cheerfully, which made her roll her eyes.

Tony averted his gaze, biting his lip to not moan, when the god squeezed his thigh and smiled triumphantly. The woman just eyed the two men in front of her and raised an eyebrow.

"You okay Tony?"

Pepper said and moved to the sink, beginning to wash the mug. The man in question closed his eyes and sighed.

"Just a headache." Loki leaned in again, breathing against the mans neck.

"Oh, poor you." He teased and trailed a finger over the man's groin.

In this moment Tony totally forgot about his own hand on the god's leg, completely loosing himself in the sensation of Loki's hand on his dick, even if the fabric was between them, the touch was sending jolts of pleasure through his body, making him buck his hips to get more of this friction. Tony bit on his finger to suppress a moan and Loki just chuckled besides him, when he felt the man being hard.

"I am so honored, Tony."

He whispered and Tony shot him an annoyed glance, grabbing Loki's hand and placing his whole palm on the bulge of his jeans, much to the god's surprise. Tony hissed at the touch, but smiled at Loki's baffled face, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed by the man's action. So he was able to turn the tables after all.

"You know how honored I will be when..."

Loki's expression changed in an instant to a perfidious smile, looking at every detail of Tony's face, when he cupped his length through the fabric, hindering the man on completing his sentence.

"You enjoy this way too much, Rudolph." Tony said through gritted teeth.

"Oh yes, I do." Loki chuckled and stared right back into brown eyes.

Both men were too far gone to notice Pepper coming back to the counter, eying them with a puzzled look on her face.

"You two act way strange today. Anyway..."

Tony tried to get his brain to function again, but this wasn't easy with a hand on his dick. He really tried to listen to Pepper, who got her phone out and searched her schedule.

"You need to attempt the annual conference of your managers." She turned her gaze to the engineer again. "This is important, it's about the expansion of Stark Industries into the central Asia region. You need to be there."

She was serious and the tone of her voice changed to a warning one. "It's in two days. I already arranged a time-table for you, it's in the documents as well as on the company's server."

Tony groaned in annoyance, grabbing the god's hand and removed it from his lap.

"For how long. You know this whole business thing is too damn tiresome, Pep."

She smiled almost too proudly. "About a week. I need you on a press conference after the whole expansion plans are off the table."

"Oh come on." The man grimaced.

Loki was following the conversation, a bit disappointed that their game ended too soon, before Pepper pointed a finger at him.

"What are we doing with him."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"We can't just leave him here all by himself."

It made the god snort in amusement. She talked of him as if he were a child, but Tony seemingly thought about it.

"Couldn't Thor have an eye on him?"

At this both men started to laugh, before Loki sighed.

"I would rather go back to Shield." He said charmingly.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "What about the Avengers."

Tony had stopped laughing and just stared at her. "Yeah why not leaving him here with the Hulk, or two crazy ass assassins who want to kill him. Not good, Pep."

She punched him on the arm. "Maybe you could help with a productive idea, instead of criticizing everything."

Tony murmured something, but got his phone out and skipped through the contacts. Pepper and Loki watching him as he dialed the number and turned his back on them.

"Hey, sweetheart. Tell me, are you here, yet?"

Loki raised an eyebrow and looked to Pepper, who apparently knew who Tony was talking to.

"What? You are here since last week and didn't call me?" He pouted at the person on the phone and it made the god grin. "Do you have it? No I didn't mean to..." Tony sighed. "Would you do me a favor, honey?"

Pepper winced at all those nicknames and pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation at the engineer's flirting. Seconds later Tony ended the call and turned around again with a smile on his face.

"Got a babysitter."

Pepper closed her eyes and sighed. "You know she will never agree with this."

"I will bribe her of course."

While shaking her head, Pepper stood, taking her handbag and moving until she was right next to Tony, placing a hand on his shoulder and staring him right in the eye.

"The day after tomorrow, two pm, Stark Industries private jet, you understand me?"

The woman really didn't leave any room to negotiate, so he just nodded and watched her leave towards the elevator.

"So?" Tony's mind was dragged to the god.

"So, you will stay at a friend's house for this next week."

The god groaned at this, got his plate and shot Tony one last look, clearly not amused with the whole moving thing.

"Well, can't be any worse than living with you."

The engineer snorted and stood as well, stalked after the god and delightedly trailed a hand over his spine, making the god arch his back. Green eyes met his in utter amusement.

"Since when do you want to play games, Tony?"

The god had turned around, now trapped between the counter, gaze lingering on Tony's lips.

"Since ever. We just play on my rules now."

Loki seemed to consider this and chuckled. He looked down on the slightly smaller man and licked his lips.

"And what are you planning on doing now?"

Tony smirked and played with Loki's shirt, ignoring the hungry eyes above him.

"Nothing." A grin crept on the man's lip when he met the god's baffled face.

"Since you seemingly don't enjoy my company..." Tony stated with a grin. "I won't bug you with it any longer, Reindeer Games."

Loki had a thing for these little quarrels and was obviously entertained by the man who now turned to leave.

"You will be glad to not be stuck with me for a while."

He mocked, his hand caught mid-air by the god, who had come after him, now pressing his body against Tony's back and holding him tight. The god lay his head on Tony's shoulder, inhaling his scent, tempted to lick over the man's neck.

"You really think that?"

The god snarled, but the voice right beside his ear made Tony shiver nonetheless. His heart raced in his chest because of his vulnerability. The god was playing his little dominance game and Tony wasn't even sure if he wanted to escape. Loki tightened his hold on Tony's arm and started whispering.

"You delight me far too much to not enjoy your company." Voice now soft and alluring.

"Is that so?"

Was the only thing Tony was able to get out. Loki released his grip and slid away from the man.

"Maybe."

He gave him that mischievous smile Tony normally disliked, but now the feline grin was intriguing, almost promising things to him and his inner self, which begged to touch and kiss that marvelous god next to him. But he couldn't pursue his desire, for now at least. He got to arrange a few things for his departure, even when there was a god mischief lusting for him... Yes, he was definitely on the edge of going insane. He shouldn't just turn the opportunity down to play with the god.

"Something on your mind, Tony?"

The god crooned, obviously knowing what Tony struggled with and grinned, before he passed him and strolled elegantly towards his room. Tony was silently glad for the god to make the decision for him.

* * *

When Tony was finally done with preparing everything, updating the towers security system, giving Jarvis all significant information, appointments to cancel and such, it was already late-night. He yawned and stretched his limbs, sore from sitting too long on the same place. Sighing, he got up from his chair and moved up the stairs, his feet almost moving on their own, leading him to the bar to get a glass of whiskey.

On his way back, he noticed the god's door standing wide open. A peek inside revealed that the god wasn't in his room and Tony tried to think if he saw him on his way up. No, he would have noticed when he had sat there. He turned on his heels and almost ran into the living room, panic boiling in his guts, when the god was nowhere to be found. Tony even checked his own bedroom, but still no trace from the god.

Damn this was his end. If Loki did escape, hell why didn't Jarvis tell him, again; all hell would break loose. After looking for the god on all possible floors, Tony leaned against a wall, heaving a heavy sigh. This really couldn't be happening. He took the whiskey, the ice already melted, which Tony grudgingly noticed too late and moved out on the balcony. The air was chilly, cooling of his heated skin from running around, searching for a mad god. He took a sip from his glass, mumbling to himself.

"Damn you Loki, why are you doing this to me..."

"Why am I doing what to you, exactly?"

The sudden noise made Tony choke on the liquor and spin around to see where it came from. There was Loki, sitting casually on the farthest corner of the balcony in the darkness.

"What are you doing out here. Man I looked for you everywhere."

Tony's concern was met with a small, bitter chuckle.

"Don't tell me you were worried."

Tony groaned, rolling his eyes. "Well, duh."

For a moment both men were silent. And Tony felt that there was something wrong with the god, he hadn't seen him quite and withdrawn like this in weeks. Tony let the god alone, only to return to his side with a second glass and the bottle of whiskey. Only after he had sat down next to him, Tony was able to see the god's face, a tensed frown graced his features until he finally looked over to Tony and smiled vaguely. The engineer cocked his head, but filled the second glass and handed it over to Loki, who drowned the content in one shot.

"Whoa, easy there. You might be a god, but you will get the disadvantages of a human body by morning if you continue like this."

Loki eyed the man, unimpressed by his nagging, and gestured him to fill the glass again. Tony narrowed his eyes, but filled the glass once more. This time Loki took his time drinking the whiskey, maybe just to not aggravate the man any further and looked at the city's lights.

"What's with you?"

The question drew the god's attention to the man once more. And he looked as if he struggled with himself if he should tell the man altogether. Tony sighed.

"Forget I asked." He wanted to stand up, when Loki's voice sounded through the cool air.

"Nightmares."

Tony raised an eyebrow and locked his eyes to Loki's, who leaned against the cool concrete and stared into the night sky. The god looked tired and it made him clench his jaw, seeing him so worn out.

"N-nightmares?"

The question was forced out and drew a small, sorrowful laugh from the god. A nod. Tony's thoughts spun around. Did he wanted to know what the god was dreaming of? He wasn't sure about that, so he drowned his doubts in whiskey and talked.

"You can..." Loki raised a hand to this and silenced the man almost instantly.

"You don't need to pity me."

Of course he knew what Tony was about to say, but this answer was making him furious for some reason and he tried to keep the venom out of his voice.

"This is not about pity."

Loki shot him a doubtful look.

"You would be the first to not act out of pity, then."

The god went silent and Tony averted his gaze to the ground, not knowing what to say.

"Tell me." Tony pressed, still not looking the god in the eyes, who sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but for minutes nothing came out.

"How much did Thor tell you about my confinement?"

Tony swallowed. "Not much, no explicit details."

Loki just nodded at this. "I assumed that much."

Tony noticed him playing with his glass, tenseness written all over him.

"You know of my heritage and the deceit the All-father put me through?"

The engineer clenched his fist. "Yes."

This was actually something Thor let them in on. How Loki was an Ice Giant and killed his own blood, just to be..._lied_ to by his _own_ father. At least this was how Loki had seen it. Father issues was a topic Tony usually really wanted to avoid at all cost, but now he just sat here, ready to listen to what ever the god talked about. Suddenly Loki faced him.

"How was your relationship to your father, Tony?"

A sigh.

"Never had time, always working, so we never really spend any time together. His work came before his family."

Loki eyed him cautiously.

"He actually did say that I was his greatest invention, but this was still not about anyone else but him." Tony laughed bitterly. "His greatest invention. He just was the center of everything."

"I can relate."

Silence once again fell over them.

"You know, after I fell from the Bifröst..."

The engineer rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"I drifted aimlessly through the rift between realms, found by the titan Thanos, who gave me the scepter. My mind was lost and I was broken, the Tesseract filled all those little gaps, making it clouded with the desire for ravage and revenge."

Tony frowned at this. "So you invading earth, enslaving humans and wanting to kill your brother was the work of this glow-stick of destiny?"

This sounded just too ridiculous and he almost had huffed at the god, when he hadn't caught himself in time. He expected an excuse from the man, but was bewildered when nothing like this came.

"No, I was confused. Blinded with rage. And he planted that thought into my mind, the thought I could take my righteous place in Asgard." Loki smiled. "I was out of my senses. I realized this when I sat for months in this prison, in pure darkness, waiting for the torture to hail down on me."

This was not the kind of conversation he liked. He really didn't want to think about any torture done to this man and he especially didn't want to talk about any of it. It made him sick to the stomach and he watched the god with sincere worry.

Of course he had caused destruction. Yes, he had killed innocent, but still. Tony shook his head. He shouldn't even feel sorry for him and above all, disregard all the crimes he committed, but Tony just couldn't get himself to hate the god anymore. Not after the weeks they spend together, not after he saw his other side, the one no one else seemed to know about the god. Tony didn't want him to suffer. Raising his gaze, Tony was surprised by the god, who had moved closer to him, grabbing the bottle and pouring more into his glass.

"What..." His voice came out more ragged than ever. "What did they do to you?"

Tony followed Loki's hand move to touch his lips and he was suddenly reminded on the little dots he saw the last time he watched him closely. Without thinking rationally, he let his glass drop on the floor and moved in on Loki, examining his lips, before he looked into the god's eyes, embarrassment and sorrow reflecting in those green orbs. Loki averted his gaze.

"They kept me from lying." Tony gritted his teeth. "Sewed up my mouth."

This was something Tony hadn't expected. Only imagining a needle pierced through those soft lips made his heart sting, but Loki was smiling. How he was able to do that was beyond him.

"Loki..."

The soft voice made the god turn his head again and before Tony knew what he was doing, he caught the god's face with his hands, stroking the soft flesh with his thumb. The man sighed and leaned into the hands, craving the touch. Black strands of hair falling into his face, which Tony carefully brushed back behind his ear.

Moving closer to the god, tossing away the glass in his hand, he shifted to sit on his knees so they were barely an inch from each others faces. None of them able to look anywhere else but their eyes. Tony swallowed before he closed the distance between them and captured Loki's lips with his own.

The one thing he wanted to do for weeks, feeling those soft lips on his own, but the anticipated reaction came to nothing. When the god didn't move at all, Tony pulled back, looking into green eyes, widened with something similar to embarrassment, before the god faced away. But this time Tony wouldn't let his opportunity slip. One hand moved to the god's neck, pulling him into another kiss, flicking his tongue over the bottom lip, begging for entrance.

Just then the god groaned, gripped a handful of Tony's shirt and pressed himself against the other, opening his mouth for him to explore. Tony didn't even had time to think when Loki moved to sit on his lap and kissed back wantonly. Both men were panting hard when they finally broke the kiss to breath.

Tony looked at Loki, mouth open, staring right back, eyes heavy with need and he couldn't restrain from kissing him again, more gentle this time, taking his time to taste him, making the god sigh in pleasure. It was when Loki spoke, that Tony was drawn from his trance of kissing him and focused back on the words.

"What do you expect from this, Tony?"

The god averted his gaze to the side, but continued to play with hair at Tony's neck.

"What do you mean?"

Irritation was written over his face. A small chuckle escaped Loki.

"Aren't we enemies?" He smiled smugly, voice dripping of sarcasm when he leaned in again and nipped on Tony's earlobe.

"No one will approve of us being together..."

Loki was yanked back, so that Tony could look him into his eyes.

"As if I give a shit."

He snarled and pressed his lips on the god's again, forcefully pressing his tongue inside, playing with his tongue until Loki caught his bottom lip with his teeth, biting down just hard enough to draw blood on the surface. Tony hissed.

"You..." He wanted to curse, but before another word came out Loki's tongue lashed out to lick over the bruised lips, drawing a moan from the man. A wicked smile played across his features.

"Aren't you afraid of me manipulating you?" He traced a finger over Tony's lips. "I could exploit this position so easily."

Tony just grinned at this.

"Not afraid of you using me, I am actually looking forward to this for a long time."

"Oh I know, boy."

Loki let his gaze wander over the body beneath him, placed his hands on his chests and caressed the edge of the arc reactor.

"And I have so many things planned involving this beautiful body of yours."

Tony was completely silent for a moment, before Loki pressed against him, making the man fall on his back, protesting on this sudden change of dominance.

"What are you doing..."

A hand was pressed to Tony's mouth, Loki was shutting him up quite effectively.

"I am using you." He grinned and planted kisses on the man's skin, pinning him down with his weight and pressing his groin against Tony's.

The man under him inhaled sharply when Loki rolled his hips, grinding against Tony with a smirk on his face.

"This will be your downfall, Stark."

Tony opened his eyes abruptly, staring into mischievous, wanton eyes of the god, who looked as if he was ready to devour him. And maybe that was the case, because Loki already had his hands under Tony's shirt, fingers trailing over his stomach and teasing at his waistband, making it almost impossible for the man to form a single clear thought. He swallowed and pulled Loki completely on top of him.

"If this is insanity, I am ready to throw away my rationality."

The god shook his head, but was apparently pleased with the answer, so Tony took the opportunity to lick over those soft lips and move his hand over the firm muscles of Loki's back, along his slender hips, just to let them rest on his ass, squeezing lightly. It charmed a purring sound from Loki's mouth.

"Aren't you impatient..."

Loki raised from the man and lifted Tony's hips, making him arc his back almost too much.

"Hey..." Tony protested, suddenly having no control anymore wasn't to his liking.

But Loki wasn't about letting him do want he wanted to. The god chuckled and pressed his growing erection against Tony's ass.

"Did you really think of me as submissive?"

He growled and Tony raised an eyebrow, before he pulled the god down by his collar.

"More than myself."

It made the god laugh and Tony used the opportunity to roll them around, so now he was on top again, trapping him between his arms. They were kissing again, more messily than before, teeth clattering, both men battling for dominance. When Loki once again bit down hard at his bottom lip, Tony went tired of playing fair and cupped the god's length through his jeans. Loki let out a startled gasp, which turned into a full-grown moan when Tony slid his fingers inside the already too tight jeans and grabbed the god's erection. Tony smiled.

"Now let's see who stays on top."

Loki just laughed again and pulled the hand from his pants, which made Tony pout.

"I am always up for a challenge..."

He eyed the engineer and sat up to look down on him, before he trailed his tongue from the man's collarbone to his ear.

"But this is too easy to be one." He whispered and felt the body shiver in reply.

"Oh you fucking..."

Loki pulled hard on Tony's hair before he could complete his cursing, earning him an angry look.

"Your language really needs rectification."

He snarled, but continued to plant kisses all over his skin and shoved his hands under his shirt, ignoring the man's rumbling. When there was no reaction from Tony anymore, Loki looked up to find him make a sulky face. Rolling his eyes he pressed his lips on Tony's, trying to sooth the man's anger by wrapping his arms around his neck and sitting back down on his lap. Tony was still pouting, more out of defiance than anything else, when Loki shook his head.

"Is this truly so important for your ego? To be on top?"

The tone of his voice was filled with amusement and he chuckled when Tony shot him a glare.

"So narrow-minded."

He joked and rolled his hips, making the man's brows furrow in concentration, trying to not actually moan like a wanton whore. Loki smiled at the sudden reluctance and fumbled with Tony's belt, opened his pants and freed the straining cock. He licked his lips and unzipped his own pants and rubbed both of their erections against each other, sending jolts of pleasure through their bodies.

"You know..." Tony tried, but was distracted too easily, therefore stuttering like a teenager. "We have to... Gosh..." Loki ran a finger over the sensitive head. "We... eh..."

The god looked at him with an open mouth, panting, interested for what the man had to say, but enjoyed how much he could discompose him.

"You wanted to say...?"

Voice even, with the most indifferent face, just to tease the engineer, who gritted his teeth when Loki started pumping both of their cocks.

"You little..."

Loki's face was serious now. He stopped all movement and raised an eyebrow. A whine escaped Tony when Loki withdrew his hand from his throbbing member altogether and kept looking into brown eyes.

"Okay I am sorry you little tease."

Tony whimpered and guided Loki's hand back to his length, who just looked back at him triumphantly.

"Oh god..."

He moaned at the friction and the god chuckled before he lay his head on Tony's shoulder and started pumping again, taking pity on the mortal's needs. It wasn't long before Tony felt the familiar stirring in his groin and he swallowed when his gaze shifted to Loki's face. Black hair covered his face and Tony brushed it back behind his ear, making it available for Tony to see. The god was panting as hard as he himself and suddenly looking back with half-lidded eyes. Tony let out a low growl and pulled Loki into another kiss, before waves of pleasure ran through his body and he came over the god's hand.

When the man came at least halfway down from his high, Loki still stared at him, obviously craving his own release, so Tony replaced Loki's hand with his own and began stroking. The god's eyes rolled back into his head and he jerked his hips frantically until he finally climaxed with a low moan.

What Tony felt in that moment was awe, seeing the god so flushed and carried away by pleasure was a sight he didn't want to miss ever again. So he raised his clean hand to cup the god's cheek and captured his soft lips with his own in a gentle kiss; the god returned the gesture lazily. A few seconds later Tony looked at Loki's lap and mused.

"We have to clean up."

This made the god grunt in annoyance.

"Not being able to use my magic became much more bothersome since you are involved." He snarled and stood.

The engineer just rolled his eyes, wiped his hand on his shirt and zipped up his fly.

"We have to put on a show tomorrow."

The god's attention was dragged back to the man and he laughed while shaking his head.

"Am I right in assuming that you are afraid of your team finding out about this little..." He gestured between them. "...extracurricular activity?" A hand was stretched out to help Tony stand. "Second thoughts about this, boy?"

The malicious grin was back on Loki's lips and Tony just had to grin back at him. He took the hand and rose to his feet, gripped the other by his shoulders and kissed him fiercely, drawing another chuckle from the god.

"Need more explanation?"

A smug smile.

"Hmm..." He seemed to consider this. "Later." He said, stretched and walked inside, leaving the man alone in the cool night air.

Tony's heart leaped with joy at those words. The god made him the promise of repetition and he couldn't help but unconsciously lick his lips at the thought. Only problem was that conference he had to attend to. And he really had to be there. He already checked every possible reason not to go, but Pepper had made sure that he wouldn't find a loophole. Tony sighed and picked up the discarded glasses and the bottle from the ground. So their next encounter had to wait until he got back. Just to think about spending his days with those old farts, instead of making out with the god of mischief, made him growl in exasperation. Patience just wasn't one of his strong points.

* * *

_Enjoyed this chapter? Please review =)_


	13. Chapter 13: Relocation

_A/N: Thanks again for the support! Here have a bitchy biologist. Actually their distance will lead to more closeness, so stay tuned!  
Something bugged, I dunno what, but apparently me and others didn't get ne notification, so i'll upload it again  
_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Relocation**

The next day, Tony was up early, fairly uncharacteristically for the man, but since Pepper had arranged his departure, she had made sure to wake him at the most inhuman hour. Not even Loki was up at this time. Tony actually thought about sneaking into his room and assault him in his sleep, but he decided against it, feeling it might not be a good idea to get stabbed by a startled god.

So he just sat there drinking coffee and waited for his assistant to arrive. Soon after, Loki had emerged from his room, greeted the man with a bored look and towered over him from behind. Tony raised an eyebrow and twisted his neck to look into his eyes. He felt naked under the god's gaze. Not that this was something negative.

"What?" He snapped and Loki's lips turned into a smirk.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

A low growl was drawn from the man when Loki licked over his neck, holding him close with hands pressing firmly against the other's chest. Hands that slowly wandered down until they were stopped right before the waistband. The god was perplexed to say the least, confused by the man's sudden refusal. He was about to snarl at him, but lips were pressing against his, more hungry than anything else, soothing his building anger.

"As much as I'd like to fuck you right here on the counter, Pepper and Banner will be here any second. And if you don't want to get caught with me bending you over the table, I would suggest we should postpone this."

The hands left their spot and Tony heard a snort from the god, followed by a roll of eyes. He dragged his teeth over Loki's bottom lip one last time and turned back to his coffee. Loki heaved a sigh and strolled to the couch, casually sitting down as if nothing had ever happened. Tony smiled to himself, sipping on his coffee. Turning down the god of mischief, seeing him annoyed by the rejection was really a boost for his ego. Even if he also had to wait now, and he was dying to touch that smooth skin again, just like Loki said, patience was a virtue. A virtue the god apparently had forgotten about now. Well, Tony was glad he could help reminding him. But seriously, they didn't want to get seen by Bruce and get torn apart by Mean and Green a second later.

So they sat there in silence until Jarvis informed them that the doctor arrived at the tower. When the elevator beeped and opened, a seemingly relaxed Bruce entered the living room, approaching Tony and giving him a small smile. The moment Bruce saw Loki on the coach, he gulped, averted his gaze to the floor and looked as if he counted to ten, but eventually nodded at the god in acknowledgment.

"You seemed to have cooled down."

Tony said in a mocking voice, making the man look away in embarrassment. Bruce adjusted his glasses.

"Well, if he won't interrupt me in the lab, it's..." He thought about it. "...fine with me."

Tony pulled off an impressed look and clapped him on the shoulder. Loki's voice, filled with indifference at the topic, sounded through the room and drew both men's attention to him.

"No need to worry, Beast. I will not intervene in your pitiful researches, as I am not interested."

Tony winced at the name and eyed Bruce for a possible reaction, but nothing but a heavy sigh came from the man. He knew how Bruce struggled with his other self, so the man possibly didn't even see this as an insult anymore, but more like the truth of his being. So he shot the god a glance, who just shrugged in return.

"Anyway." Tony began. "Shield bugged you?"

A knowing smile crept on his lips when the man before him sighed again and massaged his temples.

"Yes. Majorly."

When there was nothing following the statement, he pushed.

"And?"

Tony didn't like to have to drag every little information from the man's nose and grew impatient.

"Found something?"

Out of the corner of his eyes Loki observed them, suddenly interested in what they talk about. A strained look on Bruce's face told the whole story.

"Yes, actually. Was hard enough to track it down. We found out the damaged robot was located in an european city before it got to India."

The engineer was nodding like crazy, encouraging the man to continue.

"Agent Romanov and Barton are there to investigate."

Tony's mouth fell open at this.

"What? And no one left me a message?"

Bruce shrugged and looked apologetic.

"That's exactly what I asked myself. I think they handling you as compromised after your last speech."

Tony rolled his eyes. Loki snorted. How true that was, but actually why that would be an actual issue wasn't clear to him. But what was clear was that he was going to hold this against Fury the next time the saw the bastard.

"What could possibly made them think of Stark being compromised?"

Smug sarcasm echoed through the room and Tony pouted at the now laughing god. Bruce was irritated by all this and frowned.

"I got all the data on my laptop, if you are interested."

As soon as the words were out Tony's attention was focused on Bruce, beaming at the man. Banner really knew what got his engine going. In a metaphorical sense of course... Bruce smiled and nodded.

"I will go to the lab, then."

Before he could turn, Tony grabbed him by the shoulder.

"By the way, West will be here in..." A look to the watch. "An hour or so?"

Bruce blinked. "Let me know when she's here, please."

A nod. "Sure thing."

Bruce walked back to the elevator, waving a hand when the doors closed behind him.

When Loki was sure that the doctor truly was gone, he sneaked up on the engineer who placed his mug in the sink. Tony turned with a smirk on his face, pulled the god in by his hips and tried to kiss him, but Loki just shoved him away.

"I thought you wanted to... postpone this, if I recall correctly."

He teased and leaned in to flick a tongue over his lips.

"Hng..." Tony opened his mouth and inhaled sharply. "Not fair..."

Fake confusion graced Loki's features.

"Not fair? You are the one that sends me away after all, aren't you delighted? The god snorted and delicate fingers found their way under his shirt.

"You know that..."

Tony was already panting again, but still had the strength to grab Loki's wrists. Loki really got him exited too easily.

"Stop this..." Loki grinned and licked his lips. "You know, I also don't want to spend my time with discussing irrelevant topics and the men arguing against them."

He snapped, which made the god chuckle and took his hands off of him. Not the reaction Tony had expected, but at least he was one step more away from fucking the god in the kitchen.

* * *

About an hour later, both men sat on the couch by now, Tony watched TV while Loki at least pretended to do the same.

"Sir, your guests arrived in this moment."

Tony jumped from the couch at the AI's voice. Loki just threw him a look.

"Let them up, Jarvis."

"Very well, Sir."

Pepper had waited for a few minutes down in the lobby, when Bruce greeted her from behind. She beamed a kind smile at him and shook the offered hand.

"Nice to see you again Bruce."

He nodded. "My pleasure. So... When will Ms. West be here?"

Pepper smiled and shook her head. "Any minute. Actually she is late again."

In this moment the anticipated guest pressed through the entrance door and stalked towards them.

"Hey." She grinned, extending her hand for greeting.

Pepper shook it and gestured for her to follow.

"Sorry for being late, it's just..." The red-head eyed her sceptically. "I would blame it on the jet lag, but since I am here for almost a week...Well."

She just shrugged and the _excuse_ that the woman gave made Pepper chuckle. They moved into the elevator and Bruce finally opened his mouth to speak.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, I have heard so much about your research."

The brunette just looked at Bruce in amazement. "No, it's my pleasure, I always wanted to meet the Hulk."

The man gave a weak smile.

"No offense, I just don't care too much about science papers and treatises. So I don't read them and don't know what you are in on at the moment."

Bruce nodded and waved his hands. "Non taken, Shield keeps me occupied anyway."

She snorted at this. "Shield...My favorite."

* * *

A few minutes later they had separated from each other, Tony leaned nervously against a wall, while Loki remained on the couch, calmly flipping through some magazines.

The elevator opened, and obviously someone had informed Bruce, or he had just waited in the foyer, because there he stood between the women. Pepper was the first to step out, followed by the other two. Tony was about to greet his assistant slash CEO, but she just waved at him with a document she had pulled out of her purse.

"Hi Pep." He faked a smile, Pepper always brought paperwork with her.

"Hello Tony, please sign these later for me."

Tony mumbled and turned to the other woman instead.

"Cell, glad you could make it." A bored look was on her face when Tony gave her a hug.

"Yeah..."

Tony gazed between Bruce and her.

"I see you two already met."

The woman shook her head in fake disbelieve. "Was that so obvious?"

How he had missed her ever-present sarcasm. At least there was someone who spoke the same language.

"Did you bring it with you?" A wide grin was answered with a look of disinterest.

"No. Why should I have?"

Tony groaned at this. "I thought we talked about that."

An almost whine like sound left the man and Cell couldn't help but snort at him. She shoved the man aside and walked right up to Loki, who by this time had discarded the magazines and stood, gazing down on the leery looking female. Loki noticed how she wrinkled her nose.

"Interesting."

The woman chuckled and looked him over, before she stared him right into his eyes. Loki tensed visibly at the intensity of her eyes, but held the eye contact, grinning at her.

"Isn't it considered polite in this realm to introduce oneself before invading another's personal space?"

You could hear the aggressiveness in Loki's voice and Tony suddenly wasn't too sure if leaving the god with her was such a good idea. They might kill each other faster than he could blink. But much to his surprise, Cell just smiled. It was creepy when that happened.

"Not that I am one for all this social norms, but sure." She shrugged. "My name is Celia West, Cell in short, I own one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world. Well, actually it's more a stalking horse for all the crazy stuff we do. Nanotechnology and shit." She smirked at the frowning god.

"Hmm..." Was the only acknowledgment he gave.

"Actually, Ms. West is more than just a nanobiologist."

All eyes were on the source of the word. Bruce was embarrassed by the sudden attention but continued.

"Her DNA was integrated with special traits of reptile DNA, enhancing specific attributes of the human body." His gaze was averted to the ground. "At least that's what Wikipedia states."

At this moment all of them cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Awkward..." Cell said and narrowed her eyes.

"Since when are you a stalker, Banner?" Tony shook his head at the man, but clapped him on his back and laughed when he sighed.

"Anyway." She faced the god again. "It's actually an honor to meet an actual Nordic god. I'd die for a blood sample. Fun times."

Loki mused at this. "You are no Avenger then?"

The question drew a snort from her. "Not in a million years. I don't have the fetish for costumes and heroic deeds, so no that's nothing for me. Additionally, Fury and I don't get along too well."

The god gave a small chuckle. "All of a sudden you get just more sympathetic. What would you need my blood for?"

The woman smiled at the god. "Interested?"

Tony looked over her shoulder and interrupted the smug grin on her face.

"Don't do it, she messes with your body. Experiments are not fun when you're the test subject."

Cell rolled her eyes at him and dragged him with her, coming to a halt slightly away from Loki, out of hearing range. Before Tony could ask or protest she cut him off.

"Do you fuck him?"

This was one of those moments that came unexpected and Tony was astonished to say the least, staring at her with his mouth wide open.

"What? N-no!" He stuttered. "Even I have pride."

"Oh?" The full-fledged smile told Tony that it was no use to lie to her, she already knew. Those colorful eyes stared right into his. "You know he smells of your aftershave."

Those enhanced senses were really a pain in the ass. Tony's mouth was pressed into a thin line and he cursed to himself.

"I thought so." She snorted. "Okay well, whatever. Why did you ask me to come?"

Tony sighed and looked at the others, who stared right back at them.

"I need you to do me a favor. I have to go to a conference and I need someone to have an eye on him."

He gestured to Loki with his head. The hysterical laughter that followed startled the man.

"What?! No, no no no no! I won't babysit you're fuck buddy!" Tony placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the last part.

"Could you be quite, for fuck's sake." He snapped, but released her mouth, before she would try to bite him.

The woman was pissed and bared her teeth at him. "I will not pet sit him."

"I am not a pet." Loki snarled, but was just laughed at.

"Oh, you're not?" She pretended to think about it. "Well, you live here, sleep and eat here for free, you don't pay rent I assume?"

The god was about to mutter his complain, when he was interrupted by a laugh.

"More of a baby?" This made Loki grunt in annoyance. "No, but seriously, I am here for work, Tony, I can't deal with any distraction at the moment."

Cell rubbed the bridge of her nose, obviously already tired by this topic. Tony could understand this. Totally was the same with him a few weeks back, but he needed her to agree to this. So he decided to try every thing possible. Even lie, not that he was considering white lies true lies, but you get the drift.

"You know he could help, he..."

Both Loki and Tony stared when another laugh filled the room.

"Yeah sure." She snorted. "Care to explain how exactly that spoiled prince would be able to support me in my research?"

The god was clearly not amused and was about stalk towards her, but Tony held a hand up and made him stop in his tracks.

"You really know how to be a bitch about something, right?" He said peevishly and left the room.

Unimpressed by the man's behavior, the brunette eyed the god sceptically, before Pepper came close and cleared her throat to get her attention.

"I can understand your concern about this, but Tony really has to attend this time. He already skipped all the previous conferences."

The redhead was almost pleading and it made Cell run a hand through her hair, sighing in defeat. "Why do I even keep up with this bullshit."

It was more a rhetorical question than anything else and Pepper just smiled weakly and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

"Meh."

A few moments later Tony walked back into the room and threw a key to Cell, who caught it with ease. She examined the thing in her hands.

"What exactly is this?"

The man groaned when he got nearer.

"You know exactly what this is, West."

In this moment her eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah of course I know what this is! Bribery! I like it." She played with the keys and nodded at the god. "You know your stay won't be easy, right? I won't spare you with housework and the like."

She turned suddenly to face Pepper. "Wait for how long should I babysit?"

Both Pepper and Tony, even Bruce had to suppress a smile. "A few days, a week at best."

"Fine. I'll drag him around. Did you pack your things?"

This was addressed at Loki, who wore an expression of pure humiliation and spite when he passed her, followed by a shrugging Tony. Both of them heard her laughing when they entered the corridor to their rooms. When they were out of sight Tony clenched his fists and cursed.

"Stupid reptile." The curse resulted in a confused look on Loki's face. The man averted his gaze to the side and grumbled. "She knows."

Loki narrowed his eyes and gripped his chin, turning his face to him.

"How?"

"Didn't you listen to stalker-Bruce back there? Enhanced senses equal enhanced smelling." He grimaced. "She literally asked me if I'd fuck you." A chuckle came from the god and Tony shot him a glance. "It's your fault."

The god cocked his head to the side. "How is this my fault?"

Loki let himself be pushed against the wall by the mortal and grinned. A finger was pressed on his chest.

"You smelled like me because you couldn't keep your hands to..." Those hands were already roaming his body again and Tony had trouble to focus on his thoughts. "Fuck, Loki stop this."

Tony stared into brilliant green eyes, filled with amusement at the mortal's struggle.

"Oh yeah it's completely funny when the Avengers get to know that we mess around with each other."

The smile on Loki's lips irked him terribly. Tony smiled humorlessly back at him. Loki pressed himself against the man, towering over him like a shadow.

"I don't care for your secrecy. If this wasn't for you and your pitiful reputation I would stuff this piece of information down Thor's throat, watching him as his understanding of enemy and friend miserably collapses..."

The look send shivers down his spine and he swallowed nervously when a hand found his hair, pulling hard. As much as Tony wanted to deny it, he wasn't in control one bit. And he liked it, it was refreshing. Normally he was always dominating his lovers, but just as he was told before, Loki wasn't like the others, not submissive and wanting to please. And especially the evil and vindictive mood aroused him to no extend. Loki licked over Tony's ear.

"Or maybe I'll make him watch you writhe beneath me, screaming my name, worshiping me while I'll drive you to your climax."

With this he distanced himself from the man, still grinning when he saw the dreamy expression on his face, as if he just imagined what Loki had said.

When they had finally reached Loki's room and the god had started to pack his things, stuffing all kinds of clothes into a small bag, Tony stood a few feet away from him, lost in thought.

"Are you pissed that I send you away?" The question made the god murmur something incoherent, but he continued to pack his bag. "What, couldn't quite hear you."

Tony teased and Loki sighed and dropped his head, before he faced him with a look of boredom.

"You will miss me, right?"

His confident grin was soon wiped from his face, because Loki, who had sat on the ground just a second ago, was now on him, gripping his neck painfully. He snarled at the smaller man and Tony was really not sure how to take this sudden change of events. Loki was digging his nails into his flesh, almost too violent for Tony to bear, so he clawed at the hand on his throat, trying to breathe easier. Tony stared in Loki's eyes, excitement shimmering within them, when he heard Tony's wince of pain. But Loki decided to release his grip the moment Tony whined in agony. The mortal gasped for air and Loki chuckled.

"You seem to forget who you're talking to, Anthony."

The engineer gazed furiously into his eyes and rubbed a hand over his bruised neck.

"Yeah, you're a god damn psychopath."

Tony had enough of this. Toying was fine and dandy, but he really didn't want to get suffocated and to crown it all, Loki seemed to enjoy his suffering. No, thank you. Just when Tony decided to leave, Loki's hand found his hair and yanked him forward, drawing him in for a forceful kiss. There was no gentleness, but raw passion and need and in this moment Tony forgot his anger and moaned into the kiss.

"Damn you, you bastard." A hard pull to his hair followed that curse.

"Watch your language around me."

Tony sneered at him "And why should I even do that."

"I can be a merciful god." Loki stroked the man cheek and pressed his lips against his. "But I can be cruel as well. Don't test my patience."

Both of them knew that Tony would most likely still do that, even if it was just to annoy the god. God, he wasn't even a god anymore, but the attitude seemed to linger. And Loki was still strong, even if he didn't have his mojo, he had to experience this first-hand. And he wanted to behave, if this meant more sex for him.

"Oh, don't look so miserable." Loki's voice drew Tony back to the present. "You dared to involve yourself with the god of mischief."

Tony rolled his eyes.

"And now you dare to leave."

Loki bit down hard at the man's neck, grinning at the hiss his action provoked and flicking his tongue over the mark he left.

"You are batshit crazy, man!"

"I am seriously concerned about your mind, if you have come to this conclusion only just now and not weeks ago." The god planted kisses on Tony's skin, caressing his head with his hand. "You are mine, Tony. Be clear about this."

Tony gulped. He thought he himself was possessive over things, even people, but the god reached a new level of possession. Crazy, mad, evil bastard. But damn, the god was turning him on.

"Is that so?"

He pushed and Loki leaned in, whispering in that purring voice.

"Oh yes, Tony. You won't touch any other besides me, thus, you won't touch any alcohol either, my little pet."

His hand brushed over Tony's cheek, who just looked completely baffled. He really wanted to object to this stupid regulations, but was cut off by another harsh kiss and Loki's tongue playing with his.

"If you behave, you won't regret it. I can show you things you didn't even heard about on Midgard."

Tony's mouth fell open slightly and Loki laughed.

"So easy to rig."

The man didn't care for Loki's attitude. The only thing in his mind was the promise of sex.

"I will kill you if you do anything stupid."

That grin was scary and reminded Tony on the time when he had considered Loki an enemy. Actually he wasn't sure if he still was one. So he just shrugged and nodded.

"You know, Rudolph, this farewell will be hard enough without you turning me on like this."

Loki snorted at this and moved away to get the bag. Both men returned to the living room a few minutes later and were greeted by a wide, knowing grin.

"What took you so long?" Tony just shot her a death-glare. "Okay what ever, I don't have the whole day, so get it moving goddess."

She gestured towards Loki who just shook his head. "By the way, how comes that you're so calm. I would be pissed if I... You get the drift."

The god snorted when they made their way to the elevator.

"Well, I don't know if you had the pleasure to share a residence with this man, but let me tell you that he can be a nuisance at times."

"What?" Tony just stared at their backs in disbelieve.

"Oh I know, I had to work with him, everything after this was like vacation." The female giggled.

"I can hear you." Both completely ignored the peeved man and stepped into the lift.

Loki's and Tony's eyes met one last time before the doors closed and Tony sighed.

"See you in a week, Reindeer Games."

Tony ignored the strange looks he got from Bruce and Pepper and moved straight to his room.

* * *

When the god and his babysitter arrived in the garage, the female let out a high pitched noise, one could say shriek, and ran towards one of the cars, the Shelby Cobra. Loki watched in absolute distaste how the woman touched the hood of the car, almost as if it were some kind of treasure.

"What is it with you mortals and these vehicles?"

"This is not any other car, this is one of the very first Shelby Cobras built. And now it's mine." She stroked the car once more. "Unfortunately I have to leave you here for now, yes I know, baby, I don't like it either."

Loki just stared. He had no words for this. Stark had bribed the woman with a car. When Cell finally left the Cobra, she gestured for Loki to follow and guided him to a smaller car and told him to get in. It was the opposite to all of Tony's cars, small and plain. Cell told him it was a Japanese care, a Celica. Loki wasn't sure if the similarity of the name was a coincidence or not.

They drove for about half an hour, thanks to the New Yorker traffic, until they finally arrived at the Archstone Clinton, the new temporary residence for the god of mischief. Loki looked through the window.

"This is a hotel." He stated.

"No shit Sherlock." Cell noticed the paparazzi and growled. "Damn rats, always know where to get the best stuff."

She pulled the car over and stopped the engine.

"You will leave the talking to me."

She exited the car and Loki just shrugged in response. A bell boy stood there next to the reporters and Cell threw her keys for him to catch.

"Be careful with this." She warned and shielded her eyes from the flashing cameras.

"Ms. West, what's the reason for your stay this time?"

"Ms. West, is it correct that..."

"Ms. West...!"

The woman was bombarded with questions, not really listening to the nonsense, but getting more pissed by the second. She snarled at the nearest man and cursed in German.

"Instead of annoying me, why don't you take a look at my co-driver."

She knocked on the glass of the car, and Loki opened the door as if by command, turning the front line of paparazzi stone-pale. The crowd was distraught, yelling the god's name almost in unison. Cell caught Loki by his arm and dragged him through the people surrounding them. She leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"First rule in dealing with paparazzi. What ever they'll ask, you'll be _polite. _You will smile and answer, sarcasm is always a nice thing, give them short, non-revealing answers, you should be able to do that, Silvertongue."

One of the more persisting reporters shoved her recording device into their faces.

"Ms. West, why do you even bother with this criminal, is there a reason for this? And why is he out there, we all thought him to be imprisoned."

Not just Loki was annoyed by the obvious accusations the reporter let loose, he was about to snarl when his companion held her hand up for him to be quite.

"What, didn't you get the memo? I thought I, as a German, am in great company with a god of chaos. Is that what you wanted to hear? Cell snapped at the smaller woman.

"Besides, it would be too easy for him if he'd just stay safe and sound in the Stark Tower." She gestured towards the god who just grimaced.

"So he will work with me for a while. Now do me a favor, sweetie." She moved in closer to the reporter. "Piss off."

An insidious grin was plastered on her face when she took Loki's arm and pulled him with her, finally making it through the crowd to the entrance.

"God damn parasites." She whispered and the god couldn't help but chuckle.

She was strange, he thought, impulsive and stubborn, but she definitely knew how to cope with these people.

* * *

They went to the top floor and Cell opened the door to the rented loft. Loki examined his surroundings. The loft was smaller than Tony's personal floor and the furnishing was a bit too modern for his taste. A second floor was right above the living room which was connected with a wooden staircase. Loki was positively surprised by the number of books he discovered. Cell went straight to the kitchen and got herself something to drink.

"What are you working on exactly?" Loki asked while he examined the books on the shelves. He looked up to find the woman sipping on a coke next to him.

"I could tell you we experiment on blood and other stuff, but actually, since I am a capitalist, we officially focus on pharmaceuticals."

Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Personally I have a thing for nanotechnology and by the way, Tony is hell-bent on our newest invention."

This made the god prick up his ears.

"We're working on a nanochip, designed to either cure certain diseases or enhance special traits of the human body. Completely programmable to fit the host's needs." The woman looked too proud.

"Basically the super soldier formula without the permanent consequences. It will be a breakthrough." She chirped and walked around in circles.

Loki wasn't too interested in the details, but he certainly had an eye for opportunities. He wanted to know everything that could be of any possible advantage to him. Loki was startled when the woman suddenly turned around and faced him with a grin.

"You want to know why I trust you with this, right?"

Apparently she had noticed his trail of thoughts and he just grinned.

"I don't see any threat in you, actually, if you'd talk to anybody about this, I might just kill you."

She said with the most beautiful smile she could pull off and Loki let out a small chuckle. This woman really knew how to make threats, not that he felt endangered by them, but he liked the attitude the female displayed. Cell noticed that Loki still had his bag in his hand, so she gestured to the couch.

"You will have to put up with the couch, I won't leave my bed to you."

The god inspected the furniture and groaned. This was clearly not the standard he was used to and the reaction made Cell laugh.

"I am sorry, my dear prince, but this is all I can offer to you." She thought about it. "Well I could offer you more, but I don't want to. Make yourself at home or don't, it's up to you. You have your own bathroom down here, so you don't have a reason to come up to my floor."

She eyed him vaguely.

"Just don't come up there."

Loki could see that she was, despite her open and confronting manner, cautious in dealing with him and he would be the same with her. He looked at the couch again and murmured something incoherent. Just now he realized how he missed his own room in the tower, with his comfortable bed and his own books. The mortal threw him a look.

"What, you never slept on a couch before? What are you, a child?"

Loki dropped his bag and faced the much smaller woman.

"You dare call me, a thousand years old god, a child?" He roared with laughter. "How old are you? Older than twenty-five?" The god sneered.

Cell snorted at this and moved to the stairs.

"I am older than Tony, sweetie."

It made him stare incredulously at the female who just laughed at him and went up the stairs. Normally he wouldn't have given up, but now he sighed in defeat. Before Loki could actually do anything productive, the woman shouted from the top floor.

"Bedclothes are in the closet next to the bath, by the way."

Loki sighed and moved towards said closet, got a fresh pair of linen out and walked back to the couch. When he finally managed to put the linen on the _bed, _he sank into the sheets, not bothering to change his clothes. This was bound to be a strenuous week and he was furious, mad at Tony for leaving just like that, especially after their last day. Still, he would rather stay with him than with this woman. Loki ground his teeth and closed his eyes, he would at least try to fall asleep on this uncomfortable furniture. A few hours went by and much tossing and turning later, the god was finally able to fall asleep.

* * *

_Review please if you've enjoyed this chapter!  
_


	14. Chapter 14: Housework, Homelessness

_A/N: Okay, since I had already wrote this chapter, I just go ahead and post it now. Loki will get mocked quite a bit, but will be rewarded in the end. Next chapter is underway, but might take me a few days more. Thank you all for your support! I really hope you'll enjoy it! Btw, I agree that this is not my strongest chapter and I will try to make the next one better. Please bear with me *heart*  
_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Housework, homelessness and business practices**

When Loki woke up the next morning, he stared into stormy-blue and brown eyes, looking down at him. He shifted uncomfortably away from the gaze, sat up and ran his hands over his face.

"So that's what a god looks like in the morning." The woman examined him from top to bottom and grinned. "Not very impressive."

As a matter of fact this wasn't just mere mocking. Loki's hair was messy, stood up and were completely ruffled. He tried to straighten it with his hands, but to no avail and it outright annoyed him. Embarrassment was written on his face when the female laughed.

"Okay, dear. You can comb your silk in the bathroom later, but I need you to get up now. It's really late already and I have to meet a few boring people." She looked at the watch. "Didn't think you'd sleep so long."

Loki just now realized that she indeed had business clothes on, the complete opposite of yesterday's appearances. Actually she really looked like someone who could be respected after all. The god stood, winced because of the pain and stretched to release the tension in his back. The couch was just as comfortable as he imagined it to be. He was glad that this was no permanent issue, but even the few days would do his muscles no favor. Cell fumbled with some things in the kitchen and called the god to her.

"I will be gone for a few hours, but of course I have something prepared for you, so you won't die out of boredom."

She chirped and pointed at the piles of documents she had placed neatly on the counter.

"I am extremely lazy, so I let you do the work, my dear. Just sort them, accepted, rejected and adjourned. Should be easy and done when I come back in a few hours."

Loki had listened with a look of disgust on his face, but was suddenly more interested and smiled to himself.

"Isn't that against the rules?" He mused and heard the brunette snort at his question.

"I just play by my own rules, but if you insist, I could tie you to the heater, I have enough handcuffs to do that." She grinned wickedly and charmed an amused chuckle from the god. "You will be fine, prince."

She winked and grabbed her keys, spun them around on her finger and moved to the door.

"Have fun." She joked and shut the door behind her.

For a good couple of minutes Loki just stared at the papers in front of him. There was no chance that he would actually sort them. He still was a god and would not degrade himself for paperwork, even if the pitiful female didn't act as if she would know this. So Loki just rolled his eyes and moved to the fridge, completely ignoring the files next to him, and looked for something to eat. It was funny that the more successful mortals always had an empty fridge. The attitude of being too busy to eat healthy or in company, just as Tony used to do, still amazed him. With a groan he closed the fridge again and looked around for any kind of distraction.

The next couple of hours were spent with the god wandering around, with no specific goal at all, just to avoid the necessity of doing the assigned task. For a short while the repression seemed to work, as Loki found an interesting book to flick through, but whenever he looked up, the documents almost stared at him. A few minutes later he finally stood up, annoyed by himself for doing this and grabbed the papers.

It was more than just business papers or contracts. The documents contained test subjects for various medications and treatments. Loki's eyes scanned over a few pages. Most of these tests surely weren't permitted by the government or any kind of human rights organisation, he could tell. So the female was involved with illegal matters. At least now Loki had a hold on her. He didn't even mind the task anymore, his curiosity took the better of him and he started to sort the cases.

* * *

The enthusiasm for the work was gone an hour later and Loki had abandoned the documents, which now lay scattered on the kitchen floor. He had sorted half of it, but decided that the task was too frustrating to continue.

So he read until late evening. Loki didn't even look up when the door opened and the female came back in, throwing the keys on the counter and slamming the door shut. The god saw from the corner of his eyes that she examined the mess on the kitchen floor and clearly wasn't as amused as he was. When he gazed up, she stood right before him and took the book, threw it to the side and dragged him with her. Loki didn't knew what happened until he was shoved through the door and into the elevator. The strength the woman used startled the god, definitely not solely human, just as Tony had told him before. Cell pushed the button for the ground-floor and waited next to the skeptic looking god.

"Where are we going?" Was the only thing he pressed out, just to see the grimly face of the female.

"We are going to a place where you don't have to do any tasks."

The high-pitched voice made Loki feel uneasy about this situation.

"Since you obviously don't like doing as you are told. Now I know why you got into all this, brat."

The last was spoken through gritted teeth, but Loki still heard it and growled at her. The female just laughed it off and walked out of the elevator when the doors opened. She waved a few staff members nearer.

"You won't let him in until I say so, clear?" Smiling, she grabbed the god and lead him to the entrance. "You will now learn an important lesson, such as where people land when they don't work for their living."

Loki narrowed his eyes when the message began to sink in.

"No work, no roof over your head." She grinned and went back in, calling over her shoulder. "Tell me when you are ready to act like a normal human being."

The doors shut automatically and left Loki standing outside in the dark. This was ridiculous. How dared the female to try to discipline him. He wouldn't just stay here and think about what he did wrong. There were others who tried the same thing with him and failed miserably. He smiled when he walked back in, but was just stopped in his tracks by two security guards, who were even taller than him. Loki groaned in frustration when he couldn't get them to move out of the way and was unwillingly shoved back out.

* * *

He wasn't sure for how long he sat on the stairs in front of the building before the air got chilly and he started to feel even more uncomfortable. This was not the treatment he deserved and he cursed under his breath. Cursing the All-Father for everything, cursing that woman for belittling him and Tony for leaving him in this mess. Now his thoughts were focused on that man again and he suddenly longed for his touch. Damn him for reducing him to this. The moment Loki ran his hands over his face and sighed, a voice snickered behind him. He almost jumped at the sudden noise and was surprised to see the grinning female.

"Cold outside, right? There are million of people who have to live on the streets."

The god shook his head over this redundant lecture and rolled his eyes. Cell snorted but gestured for him to stand up.

"I don't ask for you to do impossible stuff, just behave when I tell you to. Not that bad."

She shrugged and Loki sighed once more.

"I take that as a yes then. Come on in." She waved and moved back in, followed by a grimacing god of mischief.

* * *

Two days later, Loki was sitting on the couch, sorting documents. Apparently the only task the female ever gave him. He still wasn't amused by this mindless assignment, but in the last two days he found an efficient way to speed up the whole process. Most of the day he spend by himself, read or watched moronic TV shows, rarely seeing the woman he shared this flat with.

He was almost done with the pile of documents when Cell stomped down the stairs and shot him a smile. Loki still didn't trust her, especially with that smile on her lips. He just couldn't make sense of her. The female looked his work over and nodded approvingly.

"Well done." She praised and noticed his tensed face. "Oh come on, why the long face? You should be happy."

Loki narrowed his eyes and gazed at her.

"Happy?" He mused. "And why exactly should I be happy?" Sarcasm clear in his voice.

Of course she had to comment on that.

"Feisty." She mocked, sat down next to him and examined her nails.

"Nah, I just wanted to tell you that Tony's back in town." She mentioned casually.

Loki's eyes lit up at the name and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Ah no, my heart, you can't return to him just now, he still has stuff to do. Sorry."

The sympathy sounded earnest, but Loki was frustrated with her. First she got his hopes up of finally getting out of this and then crushing it a second later. Perfidious woman.

"Don't look at me like this, trust me, I have an idea."

Cell took her phone from her pocket and dialed. Loki eyed her with irritation, following her with his gaze when she roamed the room, while speaking on the phone. When she hung up, the god immediately spoke.

"What was this about?"

A grin was shot his direction.

"You'll see later." Cell chirped.

* * *

It was about twenty minutes later, that the receptionist called and stated that there was a guest. Cell let him come up and sent off Loki to get the door, who murmured, but opened up just to see a small, lean man dressed in a suit and packed with a huge pile of clothing bags. The arrogant looking man slid pass Loki in an instant and greeted the female.

The god cursed. Mortals and their lacking respect. He shut the door and moved in on them, apparently they knew each other. The slick-looking male raised an eyebrow and inspected him, before he turned to Cell. Loki noticed he was even smaller than her and chuckled.

"You are serious here?"

The female just nodded at the question and gestured for him to begin.

"Do your work, Daniel." She stated and was about to go upstairs, but Loki interrupted her.

"What?" He shooed the man with the measure tape away. "What is this about?"

She shot him an amused look.

"We are going on a gala. An event, held by the famous billionaire, philanthropist and playboy Tony Stark. Thought you wanted to look good, so I called Daniel here, to dress you up, prince. Let him give you a suit while I change."

The woman gave him a wink and disappeared upstairs, while Daniel, Loki really had to snort at his name, it fit so well, started to tug at his clothes again. This violation of personal space made him itchy and he growled through gritted teeth at him, but instead of any reaction, the man just ignored him completely.

When the man, Daniel, finally got what he wanted he rummaged around in all those clothing bags and fished a black one out and handed it to the god.

"Try it on."

Loki didn't know from where this accent was, but it sounded hilarious in his ears. Still, he moved into the bathroom to change. He shed his clothes on the floor and examined himself in the large mirror. It's been so long since he was brought to Midgard, most of the bruises had finally vanished, but some had scarred and he looked at them with displeasure. He was displeased with his looks in general. His hair had grown too long and he would bid Tony for a cutting as soon as he was back at the tower.

Loki sighed and put the suit on, everything was too bothersome and tiring without his magic and it took too much time for his liking. In the end he finally got it on and smiled at the image of himself. The suit fit perfectly, leastwise the man knew what he was doing, and Loki felt almost as if the time had rolled back and he was back in Stuttgart.

He snorted at his sentimentality, but still he was certain that this attire would attract many mortal's attention, especially of a specific one. A hand ran through his black locks and combed it back until he was satisfied with it.

Loki went back into the living room, after looking at himself for a few more minutes and was amazed by the woman who stood there. Long, black, elegant dress and pinned-up hair, she looked at him with a grin and moved in on him, catching on of his arms.

"You look great, wow." Cell looked him over and Loki just snorted at the woman's behavior. "You will make him crazy." She whispered into his ear.

A sigh and a head-shaking followed. Money exchanged hands and Cell thanked Daniel for coming over so short-range and dragged both men with her into the elevator. When they arrived in the lobby, a young man approached them and offered his service. Loki recognizes his face by this time. It was the same boy who brought them food or new towels, always with a pleased smile on his face, despite the fact that he served them like a slave. The woman flipped her key to him and gave him a nod.

"Will you, please?"

"Of course, Ms. West." The boy beamed and spurted to the exit to get the car.

Cell turned to Daniel again.

"Thanks again, Daniel, you are a life saver."

She smirked at him at which the man just responded with a twitch of the corners of his mouth and bid his goodbye. As soon as the man left the building, Loki let out a sigh of relief.

"He is a suspicious individual." He stated and followed the woman absent mindedly to the car.

"Well, I completely agree with you on this." She said and got in, shooting a last smile at the page-boy.

Loki joined her a second later and she continued.

"He is a slimy bastard, but man he does know his craft. You won't find better suits than his."

This explanation was actually reasonable enough for the god, so he just kept quite for the duration of the drive.

* * *

They arrived at the charity event of Stark Industries a few minutes later and parked right in front of the entrance. A man greeted Cell when she exited the car and took her keys. Loki wondered why there was always someone who took care of the vehicles.

Nonetheless he got out of it and was instantly annoyed by the crowd of people taking photos. Where this strange desire to document came from also wasn't clear to him. Cell linked arms with the god and faked a heartwarming smile. Loki leaned in on her.

"This is a farce, woman." It was spoken through gritted teeth.

The woman still smiled for the cameras, but replied with the same non amused tone.

"Oh, I like this as much as you do, but remember, Stark and food. Food comes first."

This actually made the god laugh, much to the pleasure of the paparazzi and he continued to chuckle until they reached the entrance.

All eyes were focused on them when they stepped into the great hall and Loki noticed how the female bathed in their attention, proud and almost arrogant, looking down on many who crossed their path. All kinds of people, seemingly important businessmen in this realm, eyed them cautiously and murmured things behind their back.

They stopped by the large cold buffet and Loki raised an eyebrow at Cell when she shoved something of everything on a plate and started to eat. Her appetite could meet that of Thor. A few men approached them, one fat guy, even bigger than Volstagg he noticed, tapped Cell on her shoulder and turned her around. Loki eyed the situation hesitantly. The fat man was apparently full of himself and grabbed the female by her waist. He was gross and intrusive, Loki could almost hear her growling and he just waited in anticipation for her to react in an appropriate way.

But instead of punching or screaming she just shoved the man away and affected a laugh.

"Mr. Anderson, stop it."

The man copied the expression and laughed.

"I just can't take my fingers off of such a charming lady." He flattered and Loki rolled his eyes at the stupidity.

"So, you spend your precious time with a wanted war criminal, I see." The man deadpanned.

Suddenly everyone present looked at the god, who just stifled a yawn and stared bored into the distance. Nothing seemed to enrage mortals more than ignorance.

"Cheap labor." Cell responded with a shrug and made Loki snort. "Personal Assistant for this week. Pretty handsome slave, right?" She joked and Anderson laughed again.

Their conversation continued for a little while and Loki was completely bored by the mortals and their business, but was still standing right beside the female, who eventually couldn't stand it anymore and leaned in.

"Go, look around. I will find you later."

Loki just shrugged and started wandering around, people dodging his path and staring at him in fear. It made him smirk. Unfortunately for him, some women were undeterred by him and were actually seeking out his presence, surrounding him like a pack of hounds. All of them smiling and looking up to him in awe. Loki narrowed his eyes at the females, clearly stunned by their adoration, but remembered Tony's words, that there are indeed mortals who sided with him. He wasn't too keen on actually listening to these females, but he was amused nonetheless.

It was when a voice sounded from the large stage at the end of the hall, that the god's attention was drawn to the man who stood there, talking to the crowd. It was silent, besides the man's talking. The people literally hung on his every word, a talented speaker indeed, until their eyes met and the man started stuttering, much to Loki's delight. Loki was up for a little teasing, so he placed a hand on one of the female's waist and whispered something into her ear, never loosing eye contact with the man, who seemingly gritted his teeth at the sight. The man on the stage had obviously trouble to follow through with his presentation, eyes switching between Loki and his cards, completely distracted by the god's bantering.

Loki excused himself when the man's speech was over and headed to the toilet, the most secluded one, all the time holding the jealous gaze of the other. Loki made sure that there was no other in there, before he leaned against the farthest wall and smirked knowingly. It took only two minutes until the door flung open again and the man entered the toilet. He glanced around before his gaze fell on Loki and the smug smile he wore. The god eyed him like his prey and licked over his lips.

"It seems you're glad to see me, Anthony."

With this Tony growled and pressed himself against Loki, kissing him fiercely, eyes clouded with need and Loki couldn't help but kiss back with the same force. They were kissing for minutes, more messy than gentle until Tony caught the god's lip with his teeth and moaned. Both were panting already and Tony leaned his forehead against Loki's shoulder.

"God, how I missed this."

The god chuckled and licked over Tony's ear, drawing another moan from the man.

"What do you think, how much time do we have until they noticed that you are gone for too long?"

He asked and smirked when Tony's hands found their way under his shirt, obviously getting the hint. Tony kissed those soft lips again, tasting Loki on his tongue pushing him inside one of the stalls, locking the door behind them. He didn't lose any time and started fiddeling around with Loki's zipper so that the god had to chuckle again.

"Aren't you scared that someone will come in?" Loki teased, not really interested in the answer, but the man's reaction.

Tony just rolled with his eyes.

"Is this important?"

The man still fiddled with the clothes when Loki started laughing and trailed his hands down Tony's spine.

"You mortals are always so lecherous."

With a smirk Tony cupped the man through his pants and raised an eyebrow at him when he heard a low moan.

"So wanton yourself, god." He grinned and looked into Loki's amused and turned on face.

"Won't they know what we did in here, Anthony?" He teased.

"As if I'd care, could you shut up?"

Tony was finally able to unzip Loki's pants and freed the straining, already hard cock. He smirked at the god.

"Did you run around with this raging hard-on the whole evening? I am flattered."

He joked and leaned in to lick over the gods neck, who voluntarily cocked his head to the side to give the man more space. A low moan escaped Loki when Tony's fingers wrapped around his length and started pumping. A thumb brushed over the sensitive head and made the god close his eyes, grabbing the other's shoulders for support and bucking his hips. Tony chuckled next to his ear.

"So eager." He crooned. "You didn't touch yourself while I was gone, did you."

Loki looked at him through half-lidded eyes.

"Well, I did, thinking about you and your beautiful body lying spent on my sheets."

The hoarse voice made Loki shiver and moan in anticipation. The thought of the man jerking himself off while thinking of him stirred his lust even more. Only now he noticed Tony's erection pressing against his tight and he was about to touch him, but the man prevented the touch by gripping his wrist. The surprised look was met with a small smile.

"As much as I'd love you doing this, I will wait until we have more time."

Loki was seemingly aggrieved, but lost his anger when Tony continued stroking his member. Tony smeared the forming precum with his fingers and Loki moaned once more, before he jumped by the sound of the opening door. They stared at each other for a second, eyes wide with shock and Loki tried to push Tony away from him by instinct, but the engineer just grinned and held him in place. Loki smiled with a raised eyebrow and jerked again when Tony's free hand found his ass and squeezed firmly. The god raised one hand to his lips and bit down on one of his fingers to keep himself from moaning.

There definitely was someone in the stall next to them. And Tony drew great pleasure out of torturing the god with agonizing slow strokes, licking and kissing his ear and smiling when the god closed his eyes in concentration. He liked to see Loki so flustered. The possibility of getting caught just added to their excitement. The cock was pulsing in his hand, and Tony could see that the god was near the edge, so he quickened his pace, causing the god to abruptly open his eyes and gaze into brown ones, before he came with a stifled moan. Tony was left breathless by the view and just stared at the silently panting god before him. The person in the other stall washed their hands and left. Tony instantly took the opportunity to kiss Loki again.

"God, you look so gorgeous when you come."

Loki snorted and pressed his palm against Tony's groin. The man moaned loudly.

"You make such a splendid worshiper." Loki praised and cupped the man's erection through his pants.

"Come on don't, we've been in here for too long already." The hand left him and Tony winced at the loss. Already reconsidering what he just said.

"And you want to run around with..." He gestured to the obvious bulge. "...this." Loki smiled mischievously.

"I will deal with this later, you have to go out before me, anyway." The engineer grimaced and sat down on the toilet. "I'll have enough time to collect myself."

Loki laughed at this.

"Poor, little Midgardian."

He traced a hand over Tony's cheek before he unlocked the door, washed his hands and headed out of the bathroom.

Loki made out the female he left earlier and moved in to stand right beside her. Cell inhaled sharply and shot him a look of incomprehension and accusation. She wrinkled her nose and tried to participate in the conversation with her business partners again. When the men finally buzzed off, the female turned to Loki and laughed.

"Gosh could you two be any more subtle?" She pulled a face on him. "Couldn't you endure the distance any longer?"

The female snorted with laughter. The look Loki gave her didn't make her laugh any less and the god was annoyed by her holding her nose.

"Gosh you smell of..."

This was actually one of the moments you could see Loki embarrassed. He averted his gaze to the ground and swore. Cell still tried to come down from her laughing fit, but caught his hands and pulled him with her, all while wiping away a tear. They moved in on a man, Cell tapping him on his shoulder and grimacing at him.

"Was that necessary, Tony?"

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it's not my fault, that your nose is so...sensitive." He snapped right back.

She snorted and took him to the side, whispering.

"You really think this is a good idea? Involving yourself in sexual intercourse with an insane, Nordic god?"

The engineer laughed at the phrasing.

"I had worse."

Cell seemed to consider this.

"Well, true."

Both looked over to the subject in question, who was immediately surrounded by women again. Tony grumbled at the sight and Cell raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the jealousy?" She asked and shifted her attention back to the man. "You can't blame them for trying, I would take him too." She joked, but earned an peeved look from Tony.

"He's mine."

"Yeah sure, I bet it's the opposite."

Sometimes Tony would love to strangle that woman. Just a bit, so she wouldn't die, he still needed her for their project, but just enough to shut her up for at least one second. But this wasn't his imaginary world and without his suit, he didn't dare to risk a punch in the face. So he just rolled his eyes in exaggerated annoyance.

"No, but seriously." The voice dragged him back into reality. "How do you plan on doing this?"

She didn't even look at him while asking, but watched the god interacting with those bothersome women. Tony sighed at this.

"Don't want to deal with it just yet. Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow."

Cell just narrowed her eyes and stayed silent.

"Yeah, what should I do, but keep it a secret?" He flourished his hands. "I don't want to get smashed by an indissoluble hammer or Mean and Green."

A chuckle left the female.

"I can imagine."

Tony looked serious now.

"You won't tell anyone, right?"

The perfidious grin said it all.

"Not if you let me play with him."

The man just looked back at her with a witless expression on his face.

"Joke, got it? Joke." She said defensively. "By the way, when do you want to talk about business?"

Tony's eyes lit up at this and the indifferent face turned into a hopeful one.

"You got it ready?"

The female shrugged.

"Sure." She flashed her teeth at him in a smile and was pulled into a hug, before she could even react.

"Nice, will come by tomorrow, then."

He patted her on the back, when they walked back to the god and Tony immediately chased the women away from him.

"So, eh..."

He started and scratched his head. The god just looked at him curiously.

"See ya later, Rudolph."

Tony was lost in his brilliant green eyes again and would have done anything to just kiss him right here. He didn't noticed how close they were, until he got hit by the female next to him, who looked at the confused faces around them. Tony cleared his throat and moved back a step and turned on his heels. Cell pinched the bridge of her nose when they walked out a few minutes later.

"Gosh, you two. I have a feeling that this won't end well."

Loki smirked.

"Most likely not."

"I thought so."

They took a few steps down the stairs, when photos were shoved into their faces.

"You think the end justifies the means?"

Cell was taken aback by the question and Loki just growled at the blonde reporter.

"Not you again. I drank too much for this bullshit." She whined, but held her hand out for Loki to keep his calm.

"When do you start to inform yourself better, it get's on my nerves. Every time I am in this freaking country, Ms. Everhart, you are there to bug me."

The blonde didn't back off.

"Yes, and I will continue to do so, until you change your ways of working."

"What?"

Christine thrust the photos into Cell's hand resolutely and pouted. Cell quickly skipped through them and laughed lightly.

"God, you. We do animal testing, yes, just as every other medical company. We breed them just for this purpose, I would even say they have a more human life than the ones in the meat farms."

The blonde didn't seem to be impressed by this, and Cell groaned at her tenacity. Loki had already turned away and ignored the quarreling females.

"So you talk about experiments on humans? Yeah, we do that, on volunteers. In early stages I even test meds myself."

She smiled and showed her the puncture scars on her arms, which seemed to scare the reporter off.

"Any more questions?" She asked with gritted teeth. "No? Fine then."

Loki had to smile at the blonde's reaction and followed Cell to the cab they were taking, because the female apparently really had to many drinks, leaving the reporter to herself.

"You have a funny way to deal with those bothersome individuals."

"Yeah, and I am being nice here." Loki shook his head and got in the car with her.

"At least someone had fun tonight." She snorted at him and Loki just had to laugh at this.

* * *

_Favourite and review if you've enjoyed this chapter! Thanks. Next chapter will contain a Tony Stark party. Lol_


	15. Chapter 15: Party

_A/N: Thanks for fucking up and not saving this chapter =D Okay so again. I am sick with the flu at the moment, so I'm feeling kinda aweful._ _I hope you'll like the chapter and as always, thank you all for your support! Ah, and next chapter we'll continue with the plot, I swear.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 15: Party**

It was barely noon when Loki was woken by the female. Interestingly, he tended to sleep late since he got here, compared with his time in the tower, where he always got up early in the morning. He had the feeling this had something to do with how much time he had to spend with bothersome mortals. Celia was always on the run to a meeting or some sort of gala, which actually surprised the god, because the woman was lazy as hell.

Loki didn't want to get out of bed just yet, the couch was far too comfortable in the morning, so he turned onto his side and closed his eyes for a few more minutes. He licked his lips when yesterday's events appeared behind his eyes again. He really did look forward to move back into the tower, finally getting some alone time with the man. There was so much he wanted to do to him and he chuckled in anticipation. Loki smirked to himself when someone tucked on his hair, making him groan in annoyance.

"Didn't I told you to stand up?"

"Let me be, woman."

The god snarled and wrapped himself up in the blanket. Yesterday's armed truce was definitely over when she tried to wake him.

"You know that Tony will be here in..." She looked at her watch. "Fifteen minutes? And I am taking his tardiness into account here."

She grinned when Loki turned to her, suddenly awake, but staring at her indifferently. Her chuckle was met with an exaggerated grunt when the god raised from his bed, grabbed some clothes and stalked annoyed towards the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. He heard the female call after him.

"Glad we talked about that!"

Loki tsked, examined himself in the mirror and decided he had to take a shower, so he stepped into the stall, turning the water on, not bothered by the initially cold water that came out. He really tried to be as fast as possible with cleaning himself up, but especially his too long hair didn't make it easy on him. After the shower it took him almost ten minutes to comb it and he cursed more than once.

His hair was still dripping when he put on his clothes and made his way into the living room again, nearly bumping into Tony. Both men were staring at each other and Tony swallowed and reached out to touch Loki's wet, silky hair.

"Hey."

He managed to say before he caught the god's lips with his own, kissing him passionately, drawing moans from both of them. When Tony made a step back and cleared his throat, Loki just followed and grabbed the man by his shoulders, pulling him back for another kiss. Tony parted his lips, allowing Loki's tongue to push through and taste the man. For a few minutes they just kissed, messy, eyes heavy with need, until Loki wanted to push the man onto the couch, completely lost in the sensation of being with him and touching him again.

"I am aware that I might serve as a mood-killer, but could you two please not make out right in front of me?"

The female stood right next to them with a raised eyebrow. The voice caught them by surprise and Loki growled at the interruption. Cell look sceptically, before she turned and was about to go upstairs.

"Can I leave you alone for a second, without you two fucking each other?" She mocked and earned an annoyed groan from Tony.

Loki had sat down on his bed and looked up at the engineer, who beamed a smile at him and bowed down to whisper in his ear.

"You really seemed to miss me, Rudolph." Tony teased.

"It is amusing how easily you throw away your opportunities." Loki sneered in response and was pleased with the mans baffled expression.

"What..."

Was the only thing he said, before the female shouted from the second floor.

"You mind coming up? You wanted to see it, so leave your lover boy for a moment and move your ass, Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes and stalked up the stairs, followed by a seemingly interested god, who used the chance to look around the top floor, noticing the large bed and the gaming consoles, he had seen them before in Tony's living room, and mused that the woman was just as childish as Tony was.

"Can we finally get started?" She asked and the engineer nodded cheerfully.

A blueprint of a nano-chip appeared on the screen, rotating and spinning around and Tony supported his weight on the desk in front of him, examining the thing, before he changed his gaze to Cell, who had a bored look on her face.

"You want to know how it works, I get it, but don't get so exited."

She said in an indifferent voice and pressed some keys, opening a show-reel with some live recordings.

"Each chip has to be programmed for the host's need. That means it can't be used a second time, once it's adjusted to someone. Meaning the chance of misuse is vanishingly low. Even if you'd get one from, let's say, a dead soldier who got it implanted, you won't be able to use it, because it wouldn't respond to any other's DNA coding. We made sure to encode the whole process, and I hope even you won't be able to crack it."

Tony smiled at the hidden compliment and turned his attention back on the screen, where a video started playing, showing a young man dodging bullets and lifting cars and other heavy objects.

"It's basically an alternative to the super soldier formula, with the little difference that the chip can be removed without any lasting effects. It will be transplanted to the base of your neck, where it forms a connection with the nervous system."

Both men were captured by the footage, eyes following every movement the man on the screen made and Tony murmured something in his beard.

"We even think we can establish a link between a being and their technology with it. Or your suit, if you want."

Suddenly Tony looked at her again, smiling widely.

"When do we start?"

It made the woman narrow her eyes.

"We can't do this without preparation, Tony. And also, the chip is in early alpha stage."

She paused the clip and stood, moved to the safe and got a case out, opening it for the man to see.

"Damn it really deserves to be called nano." He joked and wanted to touch the tiny thing, but Cell closed it before he could reach it.

"You'll braek it."

"Oh, please." The engineer rolled his eyes. "When do you think we can do this."

"Two, maybe three more months of testing."

And now even Loki rolled his eyes, seeing how Tony pouted at her. The god looked at the screen once more and seemed to think about something, making the female focus her attention on him.

"What's up with that look?" She asked and Loki smiled wickedly.

"Couldn't this be used as a remote control, then?" Cell considered this and nodded afterward.

"Interesting. But yes, might work. I hope you don't plan to conquer some world with this knowledge."

Loki grinned mischievously at the accusation, which made Tony raise an eyebrow at him.

"Let me reflect on that."

A sudden realization made her turn to Tony again.

"By the way, Stark. Founding?" She didn't even bother with a complete sentence.

"Now?"

"Yeah, just give it to me in cash, dipshit."

The answer was as bad as the question and Tony sighed at her biting sarcasm.

"You really seem cheerful today." He sneered and Cell just shrugged.

"By the way." Tony turned to the god. "You could come home this evening, if you're still interested."

Loki's eyes shimmered at the word home, but otherwise looked completely indifferent. By this time Tony was able to see through his mask, nodded and gazed into his brilliant green eyes.

"Gosh yeah, please take him with you so I don't have to endure a grumpy god in the morning anymore." She joked and noticed that the god shot her one of his death-glares.

"Your presence isn't really a delight either."

Shutting down the PC, she leaned against the railing and lay her head back to stare at the ceiling, ignoring that snippy remark.

"Hey Tony." The man didn't even look at her anymore and she groaned and shook her head. "Do you give us invitations?"

She finally had his attention again and he looked at her in surprise, taking a few moments to process the information.

"Ah, yeah sure, just come by." He said and focused back on Loki. "Party. Nobody throws them like I do."

The god seemed not to be as enthusiastic as Tony would have liked. So he just copied his disinterested look to mock the other.

"I will bring him with me then, and say goodbye to Pep and stuff." The female was about to go down, to give them a few moments of privacy, but was stopped in her tracks.

"You're already leaving again?"

"As I told you, just was here for business, Tony." She sighed and vanished around the corner.

Immediately Tony's hand where on Loki's cheek, caressing the smooth skin with his thumb.

"I looked forward to this evening for the whole last week."

This made the god suppress a small laugh, before Tony leaned in and brushed the long hair back behind his ear.

"Maybe I can get you drunk."He crooned, causing the god to snort and snuggled into the hand.

These were those small moments when Tony forgot that there was indeed an insane Norse god standing in front of him. Being all gentle and caring, clinging to Tony's touch, nothing reminded him on the evil bastard he fought a few months back. But knowing Loki, these moments wouldn't even be few and far between, but change into his usual mischief again when they were back home and Tony would be able to annoy him again. They would argue and disagree, and Tony would like every minute of it. He was yanked from his thoughts, when Loki kissed him teasingly, making the man return the kiss almost instantly.

"Too bad we have to wait until evening." The god stood up and grinned when he walked down and heard a "Not fair!" from the engineer.

* * *

They stood next to each other in the elevator of the Stark Tower and were completely silent. Loki had his duffel bag with him and stared at the closed door.

"Oh, come on." The female started. "Wasn't that bad, right?"

The god's attention shifted to the voice and he looked down at her with a displeased sigh.

"You are a nuisance, woman."

Cell just grinned, she had expected such a reply from him. She turned to him and stared him into the eyes.

"I hope you are in earnest with Tony."

Loki grimaced at this. As if she had any influence on his actions. He would involve himself with the mortal until he wasn't of interest anymore. And right now he wanted to play and he wouldn't let himself be bothered by her and her accusations. So he just snarled, making her raise her hands in defeat and smile.

The music was already audible and blasted out when the elevator's doors opened, opening the view to a mass of people gathered in the living room of Tony's personal floor. Actually both of them were now groaning in annoyance at the crowd and tried to find their way through, until they banged into Pepper, who looked just as keen as them.

"Tony overdoes it again." The redhead sighed and shook her head to which Cell just snorted.

"Ah well, was it ever different?" She took Pepper by her arm and patted her. "Well, Loks, we sure will meet again sometime."

She smiled at Loki who rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Hopefully not any time soon." He threw after her and both women just shook their heads at him.

They made their way to some other people, and as soon as they were out of sight, he was alone again, for the first time this week, and stalked straight to his room. Fortunately for him Jarvis had locked it, so no one could have entered and vandalized in there. Loki put his bag beside the bed and sighed. He really didn't feel like going out into this madness again, but since he wanted to find Tony, there supposedly wasn't another way.

So he walked out of his room again, making sure to lock it after him, and entered the living room again. The god was already sick of all those people and their noises and snarled at everyone who just dared to look at him the wrong way. When he spotted Tony on the balcony, the man was surrounded, again the center of everyone's attention and Loki discarded the idea of elbowing his way through the crowd and walked to the bar instead, where a man handed him some drink. Not that it mattered what it was, but it tasted better than what Tony kept on drinking.

He sat down on one of the seats on the counter and chugged his drink in silence, before he threw another gaze at the man and rolled his eyes. He wouldn't keep running after him, if Tony wanted to see him, he would have to be the one to find him. Loki ran a hand through his hair and smiled to himself, while he emptied his glass and demanded another from the nervous looking man behind the bar.

Half an hour had went by when a hand touched his shoulder and he grinned knowingly.

"You kept me waiting."

The god didn't even bother to look up to see who it was. There wasn't any individual who would dare to touch him. A chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Tony scratched his neck and stood next to Loki, seemingly feeling awkward.

"Come." He simply stated and turned on his heels, gesturing at him to follow.

Loki reluctantly followed, drink in hand.

"You know, I could ask you for a dance, but that might look just a little bit awkward."

Loki grimaced.

"I am not one of your women, Stark."

It caught people's attention and Tony moved them to a oriel, away from the majority of the guests.

"I can see that, Rudolph." Tony smirked before he looked around. "Wait here for a second."

Loki raised an eyebrow and shrugged when Tony stalked away. Two minutes later he returned with a full bottle of brandy, grinned and sat down right next to the god.

"I told you I'll try to get you drunk."

"Oh. I remember that pitiful talk." He joked and emptied his glass, holding it in front of Tony for him to refill.

"So." He started and poured some into Loki's glass. "How has your week been?"

When there was no answer, Tony looked up and stared into pure irritation.

"Do you really want to discuss my humiliation?"

Tony gazed into space, considering it.

"Yeah actually, I would love to humiliate you right now, in front of all those people."

Loki looked past Tony and examined the crowd.

"I don't think they would even realize this."

He grinned and Tony topped up his drink again to chink glasses with him.

* * *

It was already after one am, they had been drinking for hours. Tony already slurred and even Loki appeared to be half-drunk by now, much to Tony's delight. Most of the guests already left and they were still sitting in that niche, by now already too close to each other, but not caring anymore. Loki nipped on his drink again and listened to the man telling him all kinds of stupid stories, nodding or shaking his head every now and then. Both of them laughed when Tony told him how his first flight with the suit ended with him banging into a wall.

It was a few minutes later that he noticed some guests leaving, stood and apologized before he rushed over, as fast as he could in this state, and bid his goodbye. Apparently they had to be some kind of special to the engineer, business partners for example, still Loki didn't like to be put behind for any of those mortals.

He waited for a good ten minutes, observing Tony how he charmed the present females, until he had enough and got up and made his way over. He shoved away the nearest of the women and placed his hand on Tony's shoulder, much to the surprise of the people around them. Tony narrowed his eyes, but didn't look at him, but the others.

"I don't have time now."

Loki just smirked smugly and whispered into his ear, for everyone to see.

"I have waited long enough, Stark."

He said in a seductive tone, making the engineer gulp and stare at the god when he walked past him and sat down at the now empty counter. Loki poured himself another drink, but kept his eyes glued to the man, who now compulsively tried to get rid of the group of people around him.

About twenty minutes went by, a few more guests had left and the ones that had stayed until now were either drunk or minded their one business. Loki didn't raised his gaze when Tony sat down next to him and started to stroke the god's back, moving his hand to his neck, brushing the hair aside and messaged the now exposed skin lightly. Loki grinned and looked around to see that nobody cared for them, much to his amusement.

"How intoxicated do you have to be to do this in front of your precious guests?" He teased and shot the man a glance.

Tony let his gaze wander before he turned his attention completely to the god beside him.

"They won't even remember that they were here in the morning." He stated.

"Mortals really are susceptible to alcohol."

Loki was slightly slurring, which made Tony laugh at the irony. The god didn't even realize that he had put his hand on his tight. The engineer shook his heads and got up from his chair and stepped behind him, moving his hands over the god's chest, fingers delicately sneaking under his shirt and caressing the skin beneath. A barely audible moan escaped Loki and he laid his head back against the man.

"Oh, how subtle you are." He teased, which made Tony's grin even wider and his hands slowly going down, sliding over his hips.

Loki shuddered, but groaned in annoyance over this too slow pace. He gripped Tony's hands and pressed them against his groin. Both men inhaled sharply and Tony used the opportunity to lick over his neck, the god eagerly cocked his head to the side, granting him more access. He chuckled when he felt Tony's erection pressing into his back and he bucked his hips to meet Tony's hands. A few guest passed them, apparently not caring at all for them, but Tony still took a step back.

Loki stood right after they were gone, drawing a finger under the man's chin and walking away in the direction of their rooms. It wasn't even two minutes until Tony had followed and pressed the god face first against the wall. It was more rough than anything else and Loki groaned when the man shoved his hair out of the way and bit down on the sensitive flesh of his neck. The god inhaled sharply, but grinned at Tony's sudden eagerness and ground his ass against the mans crotch. Tony growled and let his hands slide over Loki's hips before he grabbed the belt, opened it and shoved his pants down hastily, not caring anymore that they stood in the corridor. He unzipped his fly and pressed his cock against the now bared ass, making them both moan.

They visiably jumped when someone walked pass the hallway, staring at the person for as long as they were visible, not daring to move an inch. Loki gazed over his shoulder and grinned in excitement at the now panting man. Both obviously turned on even more by the risk of getting caught. Tony stepped back and caressed the god's lower back, spreading his legs further and trailed a finger over his entrance. When a finger entered the tight rim of muscles, Loki hissed and and snarled at the man, but did nothing to stop him from moving his finger. A small chuckle left Tony, pleased expression on his face at the submissive god before him.

"Where's you dominating attitude got to?" He joked, but instead of arguing, the god just laughed and bucked his hips to meet the finger's motion.

"You really think..." Loki moaned when Tony pushed it in even further. "...that you are in control here, Stark?"

A chuckle.

"I wouldn't let this happen if I wouldn't want this. And since your dull ego prevents you from taking this roll, someone has to take the initiative."

He rolled his hips again and smirked mischievously.

"We will see if you can satisfy a god's hunger." Loki teased. "And believe my word."

Tony narrowed his eyes at this.

"I will force you down on your back too very soon, so enjoy this little play."

A hiss escaped the god when a second finger entered him and made scissoring motions.

"We will see about that."

He brushed his fingertips against the sensitive spot inside the man and observed how Loki held onto the wall for support, but pressed himself even more against the digits.

"I truly hope you can keep up."

Tony rolled his eyes at this and grabbed his hips with his free hand.

"They don't call me playboy for nothing. I had enough divas like you who play hard to get."

A slap to Loki's ass made the god yelp and laugh just a second later.

"Oh, you self-regarding mortal. I am a god, how many do you think I had?"

Loki snorted, a snort which turned into a low growl when another finger pressed into the tight hole. Tony drew pleasure from stretching the god, but started to get increasingly annoyed by his back-talking. The fingers were pulled out just a moment later, making the god wince at the loss. Tony aligned himself at his entrance, teasing the rim with the head of his cock, shuddering in anticipation.

"You really want to do this here in the open?"

The question was rhetorical really and the god's eyes shimmered in excitement when Tony clawed at his hips and rubbed his aching erection between his cheeks.

"Maybe we really should move this to my room."

Loki considered this and chuckled at his own thoughts.

"Maybe."

He grinned perfidiously and turned around to be face to face with him, now looking down on the slightly smaller man.

"Don't you want them to see you?" He gestured towards the living room. "The great Iron Man, fucking his enemy in the corridor."

Loki placed his hands on Tony's shoulders and pressed lightly.

"Kneel for me, Tony."

The pressure on Tony's shoulders increased slightly, making the intention quite clear. The god was looking rather triumphantly down at him. Normally the engineer would have objected vigorously, but now he was staring into lust-filled, green eyes, so he knelt. The famous playboy on his knees. There sure were a lot of people who had payed for this view. And had someone told him a few weeks ago, that he would kneel before Loki, he had punched them in the face.

But now he was on the floor, grinning up at the god, planting kisses on his tight before he licked teasingly over the head of Loki's straining cock. The god moaned above him and leaned his head against the wall. His hand found Tony's hair and pulled lightly. Tony took Loki's whole length into his mouth, deep-throating the god. Loki bucked his hips, almost fucking Tony's mouth and panted with closed eyes.

"Ah, yes, Tony."

He praised and the man had to chuckle around the cock, sending vibes of pleasure through the god's body. Tony was lost in his task, completely dedicated to please the god, making him moan and whimper under his touch and right now he would do anything to let those sweet noises continue. When Tony swirled his tongue over the slit and began bobbing his head, but was yanked up hard by his hair, forced to stand up and let go of Loki's cock. He licked his lips and stared into green eyes before Loki crushed their mouths together in a rough kiss.

"Enough with the playing, now."

Loki demanded and Tony growled against his mouth. Loki pulled his pants up, not bothering to zip them up and let himself get dragged into the room by Tony, who kicked the door shut behind them and pushed Loki face first onto the bed. The god giggled when Tony tore down his own pants impatiently and positioned himself behind him. He bent down and kissed Loki's shoulders, gently trailing fingers down his spine, until he reached his ass. Tony grabbed his hips and heaved them up, spreading Loki's legs a bit further with his knee and positioned his cock at Loki's entrance, teasing the god until he was whining beneath him.

"Get on with it, Stark!"

He snarled and Tony complied immediately, thrusting into him until he was buried to the hilt inside him. He moaned and noticed that Loki shivered, clenching the sheets with his hands. After a few minutes of adjusting, Loki gave a small roll of his hips, encouraging the man to finally start moving. Tony moved with an agonizing slow rhythm, enjoying the feeling of Loki around him and shut his eyes.

"Fuck, you're so tight."

He managed and heard an annoyed groan from the god. He still drew out every thrust, almost pulling out completely before he slammed back in, drawing little whimpers from Loki.

"By the nine, Stark, faster!" He growled and pushed himself back on the cock, catching Tony by surprise.

Tony gripped Loki's hips harder, holding him up and started pounding into him with more force. By now Loki was pressed into the bed, just held up by Tony and was moaning little yeses and pleases. They soon found their rhythm, Loki meeting every thrust and noise of flesh slapping against flesh sounded through the room. Tony felt his orgasm building, so he angled his hips to hit the god's prostrate, making him throw his head back and moan loudly.

"Do that again!"

Voice hoarse with need, it almost sounded more like begging than commanding. Tony let one hand slide around and grab Loki's cock, pumping him in time with his thrusts, dedicated to get him to come first. Loki's eyes rolled back into his head and Tony suddenly regretted their positioning, he wanted to see the god's face, not have him bury himself in the cushions. So he pulled out, Loki whining and mewling because of the loss and flipped him onto his back. The confused look was transformed into a pleasured one when Tony slammed back in.

"I want to see you when you come." He whispered.

Legs hooked around Tony's waist, holding him near, making it easier for him to hit that sweet spot over and over again. Loki threw his head back when Tony dragged his thumb over the head of his cock, whimpering and writhing beneath him with every stroke and roll of his hips. Tony was mesmerized by the view, ensnared by this beautiful body, parted lips which made the sweetest noises and those ecstatic, green eyes, that now stared at him.

"Hurry." He breathed and pushed Tony's hand away to stroke his own cock.

Tony just grinned and intensified his pace, bending down to him to kiss him rougly. It didn't take long until Loki came with a scream over his stomach, clenching around Tony and driving him over the edge as well. Tony collapsed on top of him, both sweating and panting, trying to catch their breath. When Loki started to struggle, Tony pulled out and rolled off of him, making the god wince again. He chuckled and shot Loki a glance.

"Satisfied?" He joked and saw him roll his eyes in annoyance.

Tony truly knew how to ruin moments. He slapped himself mentally when Loki turned to get up and out of reflex he grabbed his wrist to keep him from leaving.

"Don't go."

For a moment those eyes, soft and wanton only a moment ago, now glared at him snidely, before he rolled his eyes again and pressed his soft lips against the man's.

"Bilge snipe."

He growled and lay down next to Tony, who just grinned in return. Tony covered them with the blanket and for the first time in weeks, he was able to sleep through the night.

* * *

_Enjoyed this chapter? Then leave a comment *heart*_


	16. Chapter 16: Shield

_A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long! I had many things to take care of, so it took me longer to write. I hope you'll all like the chapter, and as I promised. The plot returns!_

* * *

**Chapter 15: Shield and other distractions**

When Tony woke up this morning, he felt better than he had the whole last year. He stretched and had a good yawn before he turned over to the other side and got tickled by long, silky black strands of hair. For just a brief moment he didn't really know what the source of the irritation was, until he leaned over and took a glimpse of the sleeping god of mischief right beside him.

Right, how could he have forgotten the last night? It was branded into his memory and he grinned to himself at the memories of Loki beneath him, withering and moaning so filthy that not even he could have kept up with it. Tony smiled at the sight of the sleeping god, now completely relaxed, peaceful even and he trailed a hand over the raven-hair, charming a soft sigh from him.

Actually Tony hadn't thought that Loki would have stayed the whole night. Yes, maybe for a few hours, but not for the morning-after fondling. Which Tony normally also disliked. With Loki in his sheets it was different. For these last couple of minutes, he had just stroked the god's hair, giving him affection, even in his sleep. This was nothing like the normal Tony Stark and the thought somehow crept him out. He wouldn't and hadn't done that to any of his previous lovers, besides Pepper of course.

But now he just stared, admired the view, memorized every little detail of the god's face, trailing fingers over the sensitive flesh of his neck, getting all those little noises out of him. It was hypnotizing and Tony lost himself while playing with the soft hair and skin, until the god murmured something, startling the man next to him. Much to Tony's delight the god was still asleep, he didn't often had the chance to actually look at Loki from this close. So he decided to use this opportunity to the full extend. Especially since he didn't know when the next time would be that they have such a long alone-time.

Tony lay back down, hugging him from behind and pulling him close. The familiar scent of fresh rain was in his nose again and he thanked all heavens for this fortunate turn of events. If someone had told him weeks ago that he would actually sleep in one bed with Loki, he would have snorted and kicked them in the nuts. But now he was snuggling with him, pressing himself against the god's back, to get as much contact as possible.

Tony brushed Loki's hair back until he could kiss the back of his neck, gently brushing lips against the sensitive skin, making the god gasp in his sleep. He trailed his tongue over the vein to his ear, licking over the shell and Tony could feel Loki shiver under his touch. The smell of him was overwhelming and Tony couldn't stop himself from letting his hands roam the perfect body in his arms, feel out every muscle and couldn't help himself lusting after him again. The temptation was just far too big to not act out on it.

He bit down on Loki's shoulder and wondered just how much teasing would be needed to wake him up. When Tony moved his hips, grinding his growing erection against the man's bare ass, the god finally groaned and tried to slither away, obviously not wanting to be woken up just yet. But Tony just gripped him by the hip, pulled him back into his arms and nuzzled at his earlobe again. Loki sighed and looked over his shoulder. Brilliant green eyes met brown and Tony melted at the drowsy face that peeked through ruffled hair. He caught the god's lips in a brief kiss before he rolled his hips again, making Loki squirm.

"Hng..." He bit his bottom lips. "Stark." He snarled.

Tony smiled at the realization that the god wasn't as much as a morning person as he had thought.

"Grumpy in the morning." He crooned and proceeded to rub himself against him.

Just when Tony charmed the first moan out of the god, he freed himself with force and sat up, shooting Tony an annoyed look for interrupting his sleep. But instead of being apologetic, the man just grinned seductively and crossed his arms behind his head, taking in the view in front of him. Loki rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep his eyes from wandering over the toned body, the blanket barely covering Tony's hips anymore.

His gaze fell on the arc reactor and he almost instantly straddled the man's lap and leaned in to examine it further. Tony had to swallow at the feline smirk that greeted him, but overall liked where this was going. He followed Loki drawing circles around the reactor with his eyes and shivered whenever he touched the sensitive edges of skin there.

"Finally." Loki muttered under his breath and Tony had to grin again.

While the god was occupied staring at the glowing, blue reactor, Tony once again grabbed him by his hips and thrust up to get some sweet friction. Loki looked up and clawed at the reactor, a playful shimmer in his eyes when he turned the machine, giving away the familiar click sound of snapping out of the retainer.

"In the end I am finally able to see it up close."

The god pulled it out and eyed it up. Tony's heart beat faster at this, unsure whether he should yank it out of the god's hands or trust him with his life. It was a mixture of turn on and fear and Tony really didn't know how to handle this situation. When Loki pulled harder on the wires, Tony's hand snapped out intuitively and grabbed his wrist painfully hard. Loki stared at the uneasy face of his lover and smirked mischievously before the plugged the device back into place.

"So untrusting, my love."

He said with a smirk before bending down and licking over the edge of the reactor.

"You will kill me, I just know it." Tony replied before his voice turned into a low moan.

The god chuckled.

"Indeed, I will, just not now."

His tongue trailed lower over the toned abs, to his hips and much to Tony's dislike back up. The god was playing again, teasing him and succeeding in doing so.

"That's reassuring." The engineer managed to bring out between moans.

The god was planting kisses to his collar-bone now, biting down from time to time, hard enough to leave marks. Tony caressed Loki's back, gently pressing down on his shoulders to motivate him to get lower. Loki just laughed softly, but apparently got the hint. His mouth traveled lower again, hands shoving the blanket out of the way. He snorted when he saw Tony's cock, already full hard and twitching under the man's gaze. Tony just shot him a glare.

"Get on with it, silver tongue."

Loki still smiled, licked teasingly over the head, before he took Tony's member into his mouth, instantly getting the reaction he wanted. Tony closed his eyes and moaned loudly, bucking his hips to get more of that beautiful warm and wet mouth. The next time Tony opened his eyes, he saw Loki taking in his whole length, bobbing his head and looking up to him with a smirk.

"Oh god..."

He placed a hand on Loki's head and started stroking gently.

"You're so beautiful."

Loki moaned around the cock, sending vibes of pleasure through Tony's body, making him growl again. A few moments later Tony was fucking his mouth, withering and bucking under him, encouraging the god by whispering sweet, little nothings. Tony was completely lost in the sensation, Loki's tongue swirling around his head and he felt getting closer to his climax. Damn. He really did justice to his name. Tony grabbed the god's shoulders, wanted to yank him away, but it just caused the god to suck his cock even harder.

"Damn, Loki."

The engineer whined and stared into amused, brilliant green eyes, that focused completely on him. The sight alone could have taken him over the edge and after a few more flips of the tongue, he growled Loki's name and came into the god's mouth, who swallowed eagerly. Tony was panting, but couldn't get his eyes off of Loki, completely in awe about what just happened. A pink tongue flicked out and licked the last drop off his lips, making Tony groan again. This had to be the best thing he saw in his whole sex-life. Yes, women did swallow for him, but this was different. Loki was a god, an insane, mad and cruel one, but hell, he did know what to do with his tongue. And now he lay here, seeing this marvelous man licking his cum from his lips. Admiration was the only fitting word to describe it.

"Gosh, Loki."

The engineer snarled and sat up, capturing the god's mouth with his. He tasted himself on that glorious tongue when they kissed and just now he realized that Loki started jerking himself off. Tony should make a habit out of watching the god in situations like this, flustered and wanton, the total opposite of the normally controlled Loki and he wondered just how many humans had the opportunity to see him like this. A thought that was sparking his jealousy just a tiny little bit.

The god obviously knew what was going on in his head, because he was kneeling over him with such a lascivious grin on his face that Tony had to assume he did this show on purpose. Not that he would ever complain about this. Loki's hand was moving more frantic now, sliding up and down his length, all the time keeping eye contact with the engineer. When Tony pulled him violently in for another kiss, the god moaned and came over the man's stomach. His hands reached up to cup Loki's cheeks and he smirked while nibbling at his bottom lip.

"That really looked desperate right now." He joked and earned a roll of those green orbs.

Tony grinned and continued kissing the man until the snarl turned into a soft sigh. His hand found the back of his neck and began to massage lightly, causing Loki to drop his head.

"Hey, Jarvis." Loki looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Do you have this on surveillance?"

"Of course, Sir."

"Upload it to my personal server and delete it from the databank afterwards."

"Already done."

Loki's irritation turned into annoyance and he tsked at the smiling man before he stood and walked into the bathroom to clean himself up. Tony just looked after him and used the sheets to wipe away the god's cum. He had to change them anyway. Loki came back a few minutes later, hair brushed, almost looking like himself again. He picked up the cloth they left on the floor the last night, but was disturbed by a hand grabbing his wrists and pulling him on the bed again. He murmured, but let himself be dragged under the blanket again.

"You mortals are so sluggish."

Tony smiled at the ranting and buried his hands in silky, black hair, head resting against the god's chest, inhaling the scent that was very much him.

"Always there to please." He mocked.

"Why don't we get up exactly?"

"I don't want to get out of this bed when I have you in it."

Loki shook his head and eyed the man relaxing besides him, deciding that in this case Tony's indignation of getting out of bed was favorable enough to act along with it. So he wrapped his arm around the man's frame and started petting his sides before he drifted off in a half-sleep again.

* * *

Both were woken about an hour later by Jarvis' voice popping from the speakers.

"I hate to interrupt your sleep, Sir, but Shield requires the assistance of the Iron Man."

The god snarled at the message and Tony didn't even bother to open his eyes, but planting kisses on Loki's chest to sooth him.

"Tell them I am indisposed right now."

Loki chuckled and Tony peeked through one eye to see a pleased smirk on his lips.

"Unfortunately this won't..." Jarvis began, but was interrupted by the director overtaking the line.

"Stark, helicarrier, preferably now, where you already should be, had your system not blocked us out."

Tony smiled triumphantly and kissed Loki again, not caring that he was on the phone at all.

"Then it did what it was designed for." He mocked and sat up.

"Funny, Stark." The other sounded indifferent as always. "Get your ass up, we need to discuss the acquired information. Agent Barton and Romanov are back from Europe."

Tony grimaced. He clearly remembered getting zoned out of the last meeting.

"Oh, now you want me there again? Crazy stuff."

Loki crept up behind him and played with his earlobe, gently nipping on it and licking over the shell.

"Resentful, Stark?" Fury sounding too amused.

"Y-yes, I get left out because apparently I am too compromised, you remember?" He stuttered and was rewarded by hands roaming over his chest and lips closing over his neck.

"Oh, and how you are, boy." Loki whispered, making the man in his grasp shudder. "Go to that briefing."

The god continued to kiss his neck and shoulders while talking. "I am interested in the outcome."

Tony shot him a confused glance.

"What, why?"

The hands moved lower, making the man lay his head back on the taller man's shoulders.

"Jarvis told me about the robotics brought there that injured you."

Tony rolled his eyes and made a quick note to update Jarvis in terms of security. He was too chatty lately. Fury apparently got frustrated by the long silence and shouted through the phone.

"Don't tell me you aren't alone again."

Loki chuckled behind him and continued to tease the man, knowing full well that his motions would turn him on and keep him from getting a clear thought.

"Well..." Tony began. "...that's what you get when you hack into my systems."

The director groaned and one could see him running a hand over his face. Tony laughed, which turned into a moan when he felt the god's hand on his dick, pumping the hardening member. He tried to shove it away, but Loki was apparently dedicated to denounce him, so he kept stroking him and Tony was secretly glad that this was just voice communication. Well that would be one hell of a face Fury would pull off. The god had fun with the flustered man in his arms, slowly sliding fingers over the sensitive flesh, enjoying how he squirmed under him. Loki bit down on his shoulder and Tony yelped in surprise.

"Don't do that." He hissed, too loud and Loki couldn't stop himself from laughing.

Lucky for them, Fury was apparently too busy with complaining to recognize the other's voice.

"In twenty minutes. Twenty." Fury sounded resolute, but Tony just snorted.

"Sure." Sarcasm was clear in his tone.

The line clicked and the signal gone. Loki whispered seductively into his ear.

"You think you'll be able to make it in time?"

Tony looked indifferently over his shoulder.

"Well, fuck it." He said, turned and pushed Loki on his back, making the god laugh out loud.

* * *

About an hour later, Tony had finally managed to get away from Loki, who had decided to stay in bed just a little longer. Just when Tony left the tower in his suit, Pepper entered the private floor. Her mouth stood open for half an eternity when she saw the mess from the last day. Of course Tony didn't get rid of the remnants of his party. As always.

She hadn't seen him since his speech yesterday and the man had probably hooked some girl up and was not even sober yet. Pepper took her phone out and called the cleaning company that always picked up after Tony Stark. With the phone on her ear, she stepped over empty bottles and grimacing at the leftovers scattered all over the floor. She made her way over to the corridor, wanting to check on Tony, but as soon as she was about to knock on the door to his room, it flew open and she was almost knocked down by Loki.

"What?" She stumbled back to regain some balance. "What were you doing in Mr. Stark's room?"

The god smiled perfidiously, towering over the mortal and pushing her back with his presence.

"Ms. Potts. What a pleasure meeting you again."

Loki faked a laugh, clearly annoyed by her questioning. He shot a glance over his shoulder and shrugged.

"It was an intense night, I perhaps erred his for my room."

Grinning, he passed her and entered his own room, not deigning to look at her anymore.

"Where is he?" Was cast behind him.

"How should I know?" Loki crooned and vanished into his room.

Pepper was confused at this point, but still entered the master bedroom. Nobody was there, but the room reeked of sex and Pepper screwed up her nose. It was a mess, just like the rest of the apartment.

"Jarvis, where is Mr. Stark?" She asked the AI while looking around at the messiness.

"Mr. Stark is currently occupied by Shields security briefing. He left the building about fifteen minutes prior to your arrival."

Pepper sighed.

"What happened here after I left yesterday?"

"Unfortunately you are not authorized to view this data, my apologies Ms. Potts."

The woman just stood and looked like a deer in the headlight.

* * *

When Tony walked into the briefing room of Shield's helicarrier, all eyes were on him again. He wore his full armor, hadn't bothered to take it off. Fury was definitely pissed at this point. The man murmured something incoherent and paced the room, while the Avengers, except for Bruce, sat at the round table. Tony moved to the empty seat next to Natasha and pulled off his helmet. The stupid grin he wore was wiped off his face when the redhead slapped him at the back of his head. The engineer swore and rubbed his head, not noticing that the assassin took a closer look at his neck. She came closer and inspected the most obvious marks. Bites and bruises. Her grin grew wider.

"That's why you're late?" Natasha whispered to him, inaudible for the others.

The glare Tony shot her was nothing short on annoyance.

"Yeah, there are people with private life, you know?"

Natasha heaved a sigh and turned her attention back to the pacing man in front of her, until the captain waved at the Iron Man.

"Can't you get out of that suit already?"

Steve was often on edge, especially when Tony was concerned, but today he really seemed fuming. Tony eyed him sceptically.

"I don't wear anything underneath, so, unless you are into those kind of kinks, I would rather not."

Everyone looked at him like he was retarded of some sorts, but he just shrugged and supported his head with his hand.

"Could we start already? A day full of hot and kinky sex awaits me. Something I don't want to be late for." He crooned.

"No one is interested in your sex life, Stark." Fury interrupted, finally deciding to participate in the conversation.

Much to Tony's amusement, Barton seemed to consider this.

"Here." The director got a folder out of a drawer and waved it right under Tony's nose. "We are here because of this."

The last word was unfamiliar emphasized, making the engineer raise a brow at the man.

"As you know, agent Barton and Romanov investigated the origin of the drone we found a few weeks earlier."

Tony rolled his eyes at the unnecessary repetition of already known information.

"They tracked the signal back to Estonia, to an unobtrusive factory that is supposed to produce clothes. But apparently they changed their business plan."

Photos were thrown onto the table and Tony grabbed one of them, examining it.

"By the way, thanks again for actually letting me partake this time." He stated casually, voice dripping of sarcasm, before he faced the pictures again.

Nothing unusual at first glance. Scrapped machines, economic exploitation, things that happened all around the globe, but no sign for any form of robotic technology. He actually wanted to discard them, but after skimming a few more photos he paused. Tony slammed the pictures on the table and stood, knocking his chair down.

"You can't be serious. What the fuck is going on?! He should be in jail and now this? You really want to tell me that you don't even notice when one of the prisoners, you took special care of, broke out? Fuck this!" The engineer snarled and threw a fist on the table.

Natasha took one of the photos. Tons over tons of cargo boxes were on it, labeled with the Hammer Industries logo. Tony was still swearing when Fury turned his attention back to the screen in front of him.

"Our men are already looking into it. Anyhow, we are definitely sure that the drones were fabricated there."

Tony just shook his head. There was no way that the moron could have developed them himself. So he spoke up, voicing his suspicion.

"Hammer is too stupid to do anything himself, so there has to be someone helping him."

Grumbling he looked to Natasha who cleared her throat.

"That's what we thought."

The female said and shot a glare to her partner, who apparently wasn't too interested in the whole matter. Heaving a sigh, she continued.

"We are at it to investigate all possible business partners that could have had contact with Hammer in the last months."

Tony grimaced and just stared.

"And why the hell do you even need me for this?"

A solid-state drive was thrown towards him and he caught it mid-air.

"We found this, we are sure it will give us information of their possible goals or next attempts."

Tony turned it around in his eyes and looked up to Fury again.

"But the data is heavily encoded, so we need to get that out of the way first."

At this the engineer had to snort before bursting out in faked laughter.

"And you need help, because your people are too dumb, again, to decode it. Nice."

The faked smile was countered by an annoyed growl from the director and a snarl from the captain.

"We just want you to do your job." Steve threw in.

"My job?" Tony asked amusedly. "My job is being head of my company. I can't remember getting paid for anything I do here."

He snarled right back, causing the other man to stand, matching his aggressive state.

"Can't you just for once do what you were asked for, Stark? Without your counterproductive, childish remarks?"

Steve stepped forward to stand face to face to the man in the armor and glared daggers at him.

"What, Cap, do you want to discuss this outside?"

Both men stared at each other, before Natasha intervened and shoved Steve back into his chair.

"Calm down boys. We have no time for your rivalries. We need to work."

She made it clear that she wouldn't tolerate any stupidity from either of them. Tony took his helmet from the table and moved to the exit of the room, but was stopped by the captain again.

"Where are you going?" The voice came from behind him and he just groaned.

"I am going to work. In my tower. Where I actually am able to work."

"This is important, Stark."

He ignored the last mumbling of the soldier and moved out of the room.

* * *

Pepper was still there when Tony made his way back. He landed on the balcony and was immediately cornered by the female.

"What happened last night, your room was a mess!"

She asked and moved with him, wondering why he didn't get rid of his armor. Tony opened his visor and looked around in the living room.

"Well just hooked up some chick." Pepper rolled her eyes. "By the way, thanks for cleaning up."

He stated and walked towards his workshop, leaving the bugged female standing in the hallway.

"Someone has to do it. Next time you can do it yourself!" She preached and turned to leave, not even sure whether Tony heard it or not.

* * *

Loki was reading in his room when he was startled by loud noises and eruptions coming from the floor below. The persistent interruption made the god throw his book away in frustration and stalk out of his room to find the source of the nuisance. He stepped down the staircase to the workshop and looked through the glass door to find the engineer shooting at random objects. Loki narrowed his eyes and sighed before he turned to Jarvis.

"Open the door."

"I would not recommend to go into this room just now." The AI sounded from above his head and made him roll his eyes.

"Just do it." He snarled and with a beep the door opened.

Tony stood with his back to him, half of his suit attached to him and aimed mindlessly around to fire at the next best object.

"What are you..."

A repulsor shot was fired at the intruder, which fortunately for the god, missed him by just a few inches. It hit the glass door behind him, exploding and shattering the glass with a nasty bang. Loki stared wide-eyed to the engineer, who looked as shocked as he himself. He snarled, charged towards him and grabbed the man by his shoulders.

"What, by the Nine, are you doing, Stark?! Did you went insane or are you just so incredibly stupid?! Loki screamed before he shoved him back with force. Tony immediately took his helmet off and detached the glove to place it on the workbench.

"Gosh, sorry, I..." The man began. "I didn't hear you coming down."

He cautiously moved to the aggravated god again, trying to reach out for him, but his hand was beat off.

"Sorry." Tony tried again and earned a vindictive look for it.

"What were you doing?"

The question came again and still no good answer was delivered by the engineer.

"I told you I am sorry, could we leave it at that?"

Loki shoved him away again and this time Tony pouted.

"Yeah, my day was just as good, thanks for asking."

The god rolled his eyes at the behavior and sat down on the edge of the workbench, right next to him.

"I wouldn't have thought to play shrink for you." He muttered before he closed his eyes and massaged his temple.

Who could be better than a mad god to care for somebody's problems? Also, he wondered how an adult could act so immature. It had been the same with Thor when he hadn't got what he wanted and Loki always had been the one that to sooth his anger. And really he had enough of this childish behavior, so he gave in and tugged at the man's sleeve to face him.

"Was Fury futile and uptight as always?"

Deciding that humor might get through to the man more easily. And Tony snorted indeed.

"You have no idea." He said while shaking his head.

His voice became serious again and the small smile on Loki's lip faded away.

"He's not just keeping information from me, no, he also loves to load a hell lot of work on me."

Tony gestured around with his hands, completely distraught by the thought of actually working. Loki just sat there with a face of indifference, rolled his eyes and listened to the man beef about his day.

"Well, you are in fact, compromised. I wouldn't trust you with any kind of confidential information." Loki finally offered and Tony did nothing but groan.

"You are one hell of a help here, Rudolph."

It made Loki laugh, despite the nickname. While cursing the god, Tony plugged in the solid-state drive and typed in some commands on the keyboard.

"Jarvis, how long to decode this shit?"

"Approximately fifteen minutes Sir, if there are no further security barriers. The code is fairly easy to circumvent." The AI replied.

Two minutes elapsed, both men silent until Tony asked again.

"How long?" Loki raised an eyebrow at him.

"It won't go any faster when you keep asking, Sir."

The amusement in Loki's voice when he laughed annoyed the man even more and he groaned again. Loki slid his hand over Tony's back to calm him down.

"What are you reading out?"

He sighed and enjoyed the gentle touch.

"It's a hard-drive, found in the factory that supposedly built the drones." He clenched his fists. "And Hammer has a finger in this pie."

The reaction sparked Loki's interest and he leaned in more.

"Who is this? Sounds like he is somewhat important."

Tony turned around and hissed in annoyance.

"No, he is no one but an idiot, wrecking everything he touches. Not even able to build anything that functions properly."

The god snorted.

"Is this rivalry I'm hearing? Do you feel threatened by this individual?" Amused, he looked into brown eyes and continued. "And speaking of which, I see why they don't trust you with information." He joked. "You are a tattletale, boy."

"Oh yeah, you and your damn..."

Tony snapped, but went rigid when Jarvis was done with decoding and played the video the drive contained. Hammer was on the screen, sitting in a big armchair, wearing a smug smile and staring in the camera. Just the sight was making Tony feel sick in his stomach. He hadn't believed that Hammer actually was able to pull off any of it on his own. But there he was.

"Ah..."

Sounded from the speakers and Tony growled.

"If this isn't my good friend Anthony."

The tone was the usual cocky one he often used and Tony already wanted to close the video, but Loki stilled his hand.

"I wanted to thank you for the vacation that is due to you. Let me assure you, prison is not as pleasant as it is advertised."

"Serves you right." Tony snapped back at the screen.

"I had much time to plan my revenge, Anthony." The man laughed. "And thanks to your cockiness, I found someone who wants to see you bleed as much as I do."

The happy tone that the man displayed really made this whole threat worse. As if he had faith in his own words. Tony swallowed when the man stood and placed his hands on the table before him.

"You see this?" Hammer gestured to the drones in the back. "We will take everything from you, Stark. Everything you love, that means something to you. Mind my words."

With this, the file paused. Tony just stared at the screen.

"Fuck."


	17. Chapter 17: Old friends and foes

_A/N: Some news. First of all, I changed the title, yes. I had planed on doing this for some time now, because the old one was my working title. So yeah. Second thing, another user approached me for the right to translate my fic, so this fanfict will be translated to german! As soon as the first chapter is up, I will link you to it! It sounds pretty awesome so far. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry, the end is kind of a cliffhanger. But I am writing the next chapter as I speak(write lol)_

* * *

**Chapter 16: Old friends and foes**

When Tony contacted Shield this day, he was pissed. And that was a generous description. Outraged or furious was more like it. He had called the direct line to Fury, gave that poor dude that answered the phone hell and in the end felt kinda sorry for him. Just a little bit of course. And now they waited in the living room for the arrival of the director, Tony kept eying the elevator, while Loki read on the couch. After long minutes of waiting, the doors finally opened and exposed Fury, with the Captain and Romanov in tow. Tony faked a smile and braced himself against the nearest wall, waving them nearer.

"What is your problem, Stark? My agent wanted to sue you for verbal harassment."

Fury dead-panned and came to stand in front of the man, shooting a glance over to the god, who didn't even bother to look up. Tony was still smiling like a madman when he switched the TV on with the remote in his hand. The video of Hammer played on the screen, all three Shield members watched in shock. Tony was still staring at the director with that crazy grin, clearly waiting for an explanation. Natasha was the first to turn to him and speak up, incomprehension written all across her face.

"How is this possible?"

She faced Fury, who shook his head in silence. The engineer had sat down on the armrest of the couch, right next to the god and whispered something to him, at which Loki chuckled and Steve raised an eyebrow.

"We have checked Hammer's whereabouts and he is still in prison." The captain explained.

Tony just pointed at the screen and stayed silent. The god laughed softly at this and earned another death-glare from the soldier. Whatever bugged him at the moment sure was enough to vent his anger on him.

"And what's so funny about this?" He barked and wanted to stomp over to the couch, but Fury held a hand out to hold him back.

The anger was boiling inside of him and Tony couldn't blame him for it, Coulson died because of Loki and everyone knew how close both had become. Still, he did care more for Loki at this point, so aggravating Steve was almost impossible to prevent. In contrast to the pissed off soldier, Loki was calm, smiling and still not looking up from his book.

"I laughed, because it amuses me that your logic so so flawed, that even when you see the evidence, you still hold on to your pitiful beliefs."

Tony snorted and the captain clenched his hands into fists.

"I am interested in who that possible ally could be that Hammer is talking about." Steve began and focused the god with his eyes. "Maybe it is Loki after all."

At this Tony started laughing.

"Don't be ridiculous." He snapped at the man. "He is under surveillance twenty-four/seven."

Steve took a step towards him, gesturing and pleading for him to take his side.

"What if he got his powers back, or had them this whole time and just plots something against us?!"

The man brought out and Tony was secretly sorry to stab him in the back. Loki just laughed and put his book aside to grin at the man.

"You really think I would endure this any longer than necessary? If I had my magic I would be long since gone." He retorted.

The room was silent after this. Tony tried to look reassuring at this, but failed miserably, shooting the god a worried look. He hadn't thought of it. What was Loki doing after he regained his powers? The possibility of him staying here was incredibly low, Tony knew. Still, this was something he didn't want to think about. Something that, hopefully, could wait. Loki shot him a knowing glare and shrugged.

"Also." The god's sounded through the room again. "If I would plan anything..." A grin was shot towards the soldier. "... I wouldn't need that abject excuse of a human to aid me."

Instead on focusing on Loki, all eyes were now on the engineer. Tony looked around and narrowed his eyes.

"What? There is nobody who talks to me, except for him." He sneered at his fellow teammates.

A hand found his shoulder and he swallowed. Tony briefly thought about how that gesture would come across, but discarded it when he looked into those brilliant green eyes. The god towered above him and looked down on him with a conceited smile.

"Compromised, isn't he? He had to stick to the prejudices."

The redhead murmured at this, crossed her arms and wanted to say something, but Tony interrupted her.

"Don't say anything, you know it's true. I heard the word so often in this past few weeks, I could puke."

Natasha seemed to consider this and looked to Fury. The director had been silent until now.

"Well, we don't have another choice to include you now, do we? Since Hammer wants your ass."

His lips were a thin line, indifferent as always. Steve took a step back, still eying them from the corner of his eyes and talked in a whisper to Fury, who just nodded in return. With a growl Tony observed the secret-mongering. Speaking of involvement. Natasha cleared her throat and took her phone out.

"We actually have prove that Hammer is still in prison." She gave Tony the phone, pictures of the man on the screen. "I was there, Tony, and he is not on the loose."

The woman tried to convince him and yes, photos could be manipulated, but Natasha wouldn't do it just to prove a point, would she. Tony shook his head, unable to comprehend the situation.

"How is he doing it, then?"

No answer. When Tony wanted to grump about it, but Fury took the opportunity to butt in.

"Give me the hard-drive."

It caught him off guard.

"What? Why?"

Fury just went to the TV, plugged it out and gave it to Natasha.

"Doesn't have to concern you, Stark. We will take care of it. Just carry on with your baby-sitting."

The man shot a glare to the god who still stood near the sitting engineer and grinned all of a sudden.

"Or if you are overcharged with this, agent Romanov could fill in for you."

Tony just snorted at this.

"Yeah sure, so you can make him your test object. No thanks." He said with a charming smile.

"Your loss." Was the last thing Fury said before he waved at his company and moved to the elevator.

Steve followed hard on his heels, leaving the woman standing with the two men. Tony's arm was grabbed and he got dragged along with her to the kitchen.

"Is your girlfriend still here?"

Tony almost choked on his own spit when he heard her.

"What?"

"The one that gave you all those marks." She nodded at him. "You seemed so eager to get back to the tower yesterday, so I figured that it's not just a one nightstand."

Damn, this woman really knew how to read him. It wasn't completely true, but still. Impressive. Apparently the god had heard her from the other side of the room and crooned.

"Yes, Stark where is your girlfriend?" The amusement in his voice waved over to Tony, who couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, true. She's really special." He pressed out. "Why do you care?"

The female smiled and gestured towards the god.

"Just interested, because you have a madman in your living room, wanted to know how she copes with it."

Tony turned around to face Loki with a smile.

"Yeah I think she can handle an eccentric megalomaniac." He snorted.

Natasha kept eying him up, a worried expression on her face, unusual for the assassin.

"What's her name?"

Tony thought for a moment. This was bad. She wasn't supposed to care. And now he also had to lie. There was no doubt that she would be able to look through it. The assassin was trained to get everything out of a person and as soon as Tony would name her someone, even a fake name, she would know. How much did she know exactly? He eyed the woman and faked a charming smile.

"I won't tell you."

"I just want to check on her background, make sure that she's good for you." She retorted.

"It's none of your business who I date." Was spoken through gritted teeth now and the corners of her mouth twitched up in amusement.

"Why so defensive all of a sudden? Just want to make sure she's no confidence trickster."

The choice of words made Tony gulp. A grin was shot to Tony before the female patted his shoulder and moved to the elevator to catch up with her companions.

"And Tony." He looked at her. "Don't do anything even more stupid. Like breaking into a prison for example."

Tony wasn't even able to say anything anymore. The female gave him ideas. But the way she talked made him anxious for some reason. If she found out who he screwed, he would be exactly that. As soon as the doors of the elevator had closed, the god got closer to Tony and buried his face in the man's neck, inhaling his scent. Tony heaved a sigh, still looking at the elevator.

"You are worried they might find out." Loki stated and Tony instantly grew rigid.

"It's not..." He began, but much to Tony's surprise, the god just laughed softly.

"You don't need to justify yourself, boy." Still, Tony averted his gaze, clearly in thought. "The woman's warning is a vain endeavor, isn't it? You will go to this man's abode."

At this Tony had to smile.

"Damn right I will." He grumbled.

* * *

It was easy for Tony Stark to get into that prison. Every guard let him pass eagerly as soon as he waved with a bit of cash under their nose. He had brought a special kind of camera with him. Hidden in one of his suit's buttons. When there was something to discover, he would be able to record it. Tony straightened his clothes and moved through a cell block, most of the prisoners raising an eyebrow at him. One of the guards led him to Hammers cell, a solitary cell and opened the door. Before Tony could enter, he was stopped by another guard.

"He didn't eat or drink in days. We think this is some kind of rebellion, hunger strike or something like it. If he continues to do so we have to feed him forcibly."

They might have mistaken him for someone who cared, so Tony just snorted.

"Do whatever you like, big guy." He patted the man on the arm and entered the cell, hands in pockets, with an expression that displayed pure confidence.

Hammer sat on his bed, more of a cot, really, and looked to the ground. Tony couldn't see any sign of starvation in his features. Strange for someone who didn't eat or drink in days. Both men did nothing for a few minutes, before Hammer started giggling hysterically. A sound that Tony would never get used to. This man gave him the creeps. A hoarse voice yanked him from his thoughts.

"With what do I deserve the honor of your visit, Anthony?" Tony rolled his eyes at the use of his full name.

"I don't have time to pussyfoot around." He growled and moved to the bed, grabbing Hammer by his collar and pulled him close.

"How did you do it?!" Tony snarled.

But Hammer was just staring at him with crazy eyes, flashing a smile. Hammer grabbed Tony's wrist and twisted it until he had to let go. Groaning he held his aching hand. There was something wrong with him, he didn't seem like himself at all.

"Did you like our little message?"

Hammer smiled at him and stepped closer to the wounded man.

"Don't worry, this won't be the last thing we'll send you." He chirped.

"Oh what? You really think you're little video made me shiver? You have to really get your game up, you aren't anywhere near my league." Tony countered and looked triumphantly to the other. "I want to see you doing anything inside a cell."

Tony didn't get the reaction he wanted. Hammer's face was nearly sad now and he laughed bitterly at the engineer. Almost as if he felt sorry for his opponent.

"Anthony, Anthony, Anthony." He shook his head. "You aren't the only one adept in engineering."

"Oh yeah?" Tony laughed. "My stuff actually works."

While Tony rambled on about his superiority, Hammer had moved to Tony, now gripping his throat painfully hard and heaving him into the air. By now, at the latest, Tony was certain that something was horribly wrong with him. Hammer was small, lean, weak and now he was lifting him from his feet. Tony had trouble breathing and clawed at the fingers digging into his flesh. Out of a glimpse he saw something moving inside the man's eye. He tried to focus more on it, despite the fact that the man in front of him suffocated him and he saw it was mechanical. A lens. It all made sense now. Tony just stared for the whole time, until the guards rushed in and yanked Hammer away from him. Of course, why didn't he thought of that before. A powerful ally, able to build such drones. Tony laughed bitterly.

"Fuck... It was so obvious."

Much to Tony's astonishment Hammer let himself get dragged away. Focused on Tony and smiling. The guards were still holding the convict, when Tony stomped out of the room.

"Something the matter, Anthony? Prepare yourself for your downfall!"

Hammer, or well, the mechanical copy of him, yelled after him and Tony grumbled, cast a last glance over his shoulder, before he gestured to the guards that they could close him up again. Tony glanced down to his camera and rubbed his bruised neck. At least he got it on tape.

* * *

This was the third time in this week that he was with Shield agents. Apparently they thought it was a good idea to observe him while he waited for the director to arrive. They didn't trust him with information and now they feared he could steal something or do whatever they thought he would do. Okay, not so odd at all. A small woman was watching him, obviously distressed by his presence. She had a cute face, brunette bangs, but the tenseness distorted her features and Tony just rolled his eyes. Completely overwhelmed by the task. Come to think of it, she possibly wouldn't even notice when he would do anything but waiting.

"So, eh..." He began, the woman instantly jumped at his voice.

"I-I..." She stuttered. "I am no-not supposed to speak with you, Mr. St-Stark."

Tony eyed her with a raised eyebrow and shrugged. The female stood at the door, rueful, still not looking into his eyes. Shield staff was always kind of cramped. He sat down on the desk, casually slipping his fingers under the edge and attached a bug to it. At least now he would get every tiny bit of information. Tony was completely bored when Fury arrived, accompanied by Natasha and agent Hill.

"Finally, gosh..."

He groaned and got off from the desk to get a picture from his pocket. The director yanked it from his hand, still pissed that Tony had visited Hammer in prison.

"And what..." Fury snapped and handed the picture to Natasha. "...should be wrong with this?"

Tony dead-panned. "He isn't there."

"What?"

He was looking at Tony as if he was retarded. Both men stared at each other for the longest time until the redhead narrowed her eyes and murmured something. She grimaced and sighed. Tony picked up on this.

"Oh god, finally someone who has a functioning brain. Thanks."

The assassin rolled her eyes at the engineer and gave the picture back to Fury.

"Yeah right, a robot of some sort. Or a drone or whatever it is. I don't know, but this..." He pointed at Hammers face in the picture. "...is not Hammer."

Tony's triumph wasn't granted any reaction by Fury. The man just stared indifferently.

"We told you not to pursue this, Stark."

Tony waved a finger.

"No, actually. Agent Romanov here told me to not do anything stupid. And since this is nothing but productive and propellent, it can't be considered stupid, right?" He grinned at Natasha.

"Still, this is none of your business. Shield will investigate this case." Agent Hill stated and passed him, deposited files on the desk and shot him a glance.

"It started to be mine when some secret organization didn't even noticed that their convict was replaced by a robot."

Tony didn't like that woman. She always got her nose into stuff that shouldn't concern her. Nosy. He wore a smug smile and watched her doing paperwork.

"Do you have any idea who could create such advanced technology, Stark?"

Tony thought about it. Sure, there might be a few people on this planet that could compete with his genius, but these robots, especially the Hammer clone, were not matched by any Tony had seen until now.

"No. I don't know anyone who could make one like this." He said after some time. "I just know that Hammer couldn't even build a school project without failing miserably." The engineer sneered.

"What do you thing he wants from you?"

Tony held the gaze of the director.

"Well, let's start with revenge."

* * *

They spend hours on planing, preparing for possible attacks and it was already dark when Tony came home. No lights were on when he entered the living room. He felt an urge to go to the god, apparently in his room, just to relieve a bit of stress, but his rage about this past day was too big, so he stalked right into his workshop. Tony worked like a madman, ideas on how to counter Hammer and those robots flooded his brain. The best thing to destroy technology were graphite bombs. He was experienced with this kind of weaponry and completed a pocket version in no time. But this raised another issue. The suit wouldn't work, hell, would be completely busted if he would get hit by the impact of one of those bombs. So he worked on a sheathing for his newest suit, hopefully able to shield him from the effect.

Classic rock sounded through the speakers and the dimmed room was lightened by the sparks of the welding unit, welding together pieces of metal. Tony had discarded his jacket, only wearing his black tank top now. He propped up his welding goggles and looked sceptically at the hot metal, before he attached the goggles again and launched to weld another piece. Unfortunately Dummy had other plans and moved one of the items out of place, so that Tony almost messed up the seam. It was not the last time that Dummy wouldn't hold still and every time Tony told the robot he would demolish him.

The man was immersed in his work and didn't notice the lock opening or the god coming in, standing right behind him and looking at the robotic thing with disinterest. The man didn't react to many attempts on getting his attention and Loki tsked. Of course he didn't hear him with this noise. He touched Tony's shoulder and drew back when the man jumped at the touch, barely holding on to the wielding device, turning around instantly. Tony shouted for the music to stop and looked at the god with displeasure.

"What the fuck, Reindeer Games!?" He switched off the welder and got up from his chair.

Loki rolled his eyes at the nickname. Suddenly the work was forgotten and Tony stalked towards his lover, if he could name him that and tried to steal a kiss from his beautiful lips. But instead of returning the gesture, Loki pushed him away with an expression of distaste.

"Don't you dare touching me you greasy oaf." The god sneered and tried to get distance between them, not wanting to be touched by the man.

Admittedly, Tony looked like a mechanic, not that he minded it, but the god sure wasn't keen to be smeared in oil. Tony grabbed his wrist and pulled Loki to himself.

"Oh come on, princess, everything's better with lube." The engineer crooned and let his hands slide over the silky shirt Loki was wearing.

The god freed himself from the man and voiced a disgusted noise.

"What are you working o this time?" He asked, annoyance laying in this voice.

Tony didn't bother answering, in fact he was already slipping his fingers under his shirt, eager to feel the smoothness and warmth of Loki's skin. The other just rolled his eyes again at the intrusion.

"All this because of this human? Your fixation on this man amuses me. Do you really feel so threatened?"

The man pressed himself against the grumbling god and held him by his hips, grinding against his ass.

"I'll show you how threatened I feel when you don't cut that bullshit."

Much to Tony's dislike, the god pushed him away playfully and laughed.

"Oh what great benefit we could give each other when I had my magic." He started and grinned at Tony, who frowned.

He didn't know what to think of this statement. Really, this was one of the moments when Tony saw sparks of the old Loki coming through. The direction the conversation was taking was not going to end well.

"This isn't my decision, you know this."

Loki smiled mischievously at him now.

"It might be, actually."

Before Tony could even blink, Loki was towering over him again. Holding him by his elbows and looking down on him with a confident grin plastered over his lips.

"A mortal's opinion about my well-behaving might sooth the All-Father's anger, make him more..." His green eyes were piercing. "...amendable to my pleading."

The change in demeanor was something that made Tony flinch. All these weeks he had spent with him, the god had never spoken of something like this. And now he stood there, with the exact same expression he had worn when Tony had first met him in Stuttgart. It was like a snap within, Tony couldn't really describe it, but he felt worried by his presence once more. Worried that he'd plan something. And how could he be sure that Loki meant anything he said. He was the god of mischief, a trickster. And he'd be damned if Loki just used him for one of his wicked plans. What would he do if someone like that would happen? It would break the Avengers.

The man was clearly in thought and Loki used the opportunity to bite down on his lower lip, waking him from his trance.

"All those things I could do to my lovely pet." He crooned and Tony unconsciously licked his lips. "If only I had my magic. Endless possibilities to make you orgasm. So many things I would show you."

Suddenly the thoughts about manipulation and exploitation were cast aside and Tony was groaning in anticipation, not being able to keep his mind from wandering. Loki was already sucking on his earlobe, apparently not minding the grease anymore and caressed Tony's chest.

"Just think about it, love."

His voice was purring in Tony's ears and he just loved the sound of it. Loki's tongue was drawing circles and Tony couldn't help but getting more turned on by the minute. Loki was aggressive, dominating and he liked him that way. Sure, Loki had been bottom when they had fucked, but he just wasn't the submissive type and Tony didn't want him to be. It wouldn't be such fun, when there wouldn't be a fight for dominance. But now Loki was taking the lead, shoving him onto the bench and kissing him fiercely. For some reason Tony could unwind under his fingers, let himself get dragged into sweet oblivion. The god's firm grip was soothing his mind. At least until Loki started talking again.

"Just imagine. The most powerful man on Midgard and the best mage of Asgard. Such a powerful alliance."

Tony narrowed his eyes at this and tried to concentrate not on the fingers roaming his body, but the words.

"We'd be able to conquer whole worlds."

He gulped at this, couldn't believe what he heard. Tony pushed the god off of him and stared.

"You can't be serious." It was much less of a question than a statement. "You still think about fucking conquer earth?"

The engineer bared his teeth in a snarl and gestured at the now sighing god.

"I do not plan anything." Loki stated and rolled his eyes. "I am simply presenting the obvious."

He approached the still grumbling man again and placed a hand at his neck, firmly pulling him in for another kiss.

"I could help you with that nag of yours."

Tony was still grimacing and looking sceptically at Loki, who had started to flatter him with all kinds of compliments on how much more superior he was to everyone else and so on. Tony was still pissed and wasn't really paying attention to what the silver tongue said. The god was standing behind him now and massaged his neck. Tony could feel his resentment falter. Damn him for being so good at this.

"When I get my powers back, I will help you annihilate your foes. They distract you too much for my liking." Loki said cheerfully and kneaded the sensitive skin, making Tony shiver. "And I will make you immortal."

This was so casually spoken that Tony almost overheard it.

"W-what?" He stumbled and looked wide-eyed over his shoulder.

Loki only responded with a hearty laugh.

"I will spend so much time torturing and pleasuring you, making you beg for me to stop and never let it end." The god said with a sing-song voice. "It's just a matter of time that I will regain Odin's goodwill and my powers."

Tony thought about it. He still didn't know what the god would do when he get his powers back. Return to Asgard, most possibly. At least this was what it sounded like. And what would Tony do then? He was becoming far too dependent on the god's presence. Tony murmured under his breath. He didn't want this to end before it even really started. Normally he was living in the now, but he had trouble focusing at the man behind him at the moment. Loki noticed the tense expression and chuckled.

"What is it, boy? Will you be aghast when I return to my powerful self?" He teased, but was just faced with a disheartened look.

"You will leave, won't you..."

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_Review if you enjoyed this chapter!  
_


	18. Chapter 18: Domination

_A/N: SO warning first: This may be considered Non-Con and pure smut. You may skip this chapter if you don't like the topic. Oh and Loki answers. And Tony's pissed. And has interior monologues. Hope my writing style will improve again, I had to write the last few chapters during nighttime, because I have no time during the day, I apologize for that. I think I will rewrite every chapter once I have time u_u  
_

* * *

**Chapter 17: Domination**

"What is it, boy? Will you be aghast when I return to my powerful self?" He teased, but was just faced with a disheartened look.

"You will leave, won't you..."

The god narrowed his eyes and averted his gaze. No answer was given, Loki stayed silent for the next few minutes. Tony huffed and shook his head.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

He smiled to himself and put on his goggles again, wanting to continue his work. Really, what had he promised himself from this conversation. Of course Loki won't stay here. Since when was he so stupid. This was merely a time-wasting activity for him. And actually it was the same with Tony. Right. Nothing special was between them. No love, no affection, just pure lust, physical desire. Despite the fact that he knew this before hand, he still asked. And now he was ashamed of himself.

Tony was about to switch the welder back on, when he heard the god groaning behind him. The engineer raised an eyebrow at the noise, obviously annoyed of this whole ordeal now and felt hands creeping around his waist.

"Don't be like that."

The amused tone in Loki's voice really didn't make it easier for him to unwind.

"This little fact shouldn't prevent us from enjoying our time together, now should it?"

A wet tongue traced his neck, trying to get the man to relax. And hadn't he been so aggravated over this whole thing, he would have enjoyed the caresses, but now he was just pouting and stood there, rigid, not moving an inch.

"This face does not suit you." The god sneered. "Don't dare to think I won't come back to my precious toy when I crave this beautiful body."

The look on Tony's face couldn't be described anything but irked.

"I am your booty call? Sex on demand...Wow."

A smile crept on Loki's lips and he kissed the man's neck once more.

"Precisely."

Warm hands found their way under his tank top and teased his nipple.

"Isn't that what you always want? No, rules no boundaries or limitations. I thought this style of living is the one you claim to enjoy."

Loki was right. He wasn't the type to settle down with anyone. Usually his conquests would leave the same night, or the morning after. But it was different this time.

Loki let off the man and strode around the room to sit down on one of the workbenches, the whole time followed by Tony's eyes. Seductive green found brown and he waved at the man to come nearer. He growled in annoyance, not keen on the idea to gloss this topic over with sex. Damn, he had changed. Normally he was the one to avoid important conversations or change their direction to exactly this outcome. But he was pissed. Because of the god and his stupid talking and because of himself, being so naïve to believe Loki would actually care. Tony shrugged at his own thoughts and dropped the welder and his goggles and walked to the door of the workshop.

"Since when are you so sentimental, Stark?"

The god yelled after him and Tony stopped in his tracks, dropping his head.

"For the record. I am not. I just don't want to bother, I had enough talking for today."

A smug grin plastered the god's face and Tony rolled his eyes at him.

"I just don't have fun discussing bullshit."

He really didn't want to deal with this anymore. He wasn't even disappointed anymore by now, hadn't expected anything else from him. Loki always was and would be their enemy, even when he didn't want to think of him that way anymore. And he still was that smug bastard. Hadn't changed a bit.

"If you would excuse me, my lady, I will withdraw to the upper quarters."

The exaggerated bowing gesture made the god laugh out loud and he still snickered when Tony made his way up the stairs.

"Oh, Anthony."

Loki sighed and ran a hand through his hair before he bounced off the bench and lazily followed the man.

Tony had sat down on the couch with a bottle of scotch and grimaced at the strong taste of the liquor as he sipped on his drink. The god didn't like when he drank too much, but now he really didn't care at all. Fuck this, he just wanted to get drunk. Like in the good old times. Everything was too confusing now and Tony wondered if he got too old for this. He leaned forward and supported his arms on his knees, sighing heavily and rubbing his temple with the free hand.

"What was I thinking."

A broken laugh escaped his throat and he chugged the whole glass of scotch. Tony felt like a heartsick teenager and the thought made him almost vomit with frustration. It was ridiculous. Thinking that the god would actually do anything else than wasting his time with him. Come to think of it, fucking Tony Stark was kind of beneficial. And Loki had already admitted that he always sought out his own benefits. It was something he didn't get out of his head. The thought nagged on him. What if Loki really was after something. Something to help him defeat the Avengers, some weapon or information. Maybe he just pretended to care to get what he wants.

"Damn..." Tony laughed again. "I really am pathetic."

What did he expect from an insane, Nordic god. Killing people, fighting against his team. He shouldn't be surprised. This...relationship wasn't healthy, he knew, but he was drawn to Loki like a moth to the light. He needed his touch, wanted him whenever he saw him, like a burning desire deep within his body. And he was completely different to all his previous lovers. Not boring or prude, but passionate and steamy, which was quite the opposite to his usual demeanor. Tony loved seeing the god opening up and he felt content around him. Happy because of Loki. Tony snorted.

"I am doomed."

If anyone ever got wind of the thing between him, they would call him crazy, abandon him or worse. They would tell him to end this, and they would be right. He shouldn't fuck Loki. But damn him, he wanted to. The danger and excitement Loki embodied was too good to let go off. Tony raised his eyes when a noise came from the stairs and he frowned, looking away and poured himself another drink. He felt hands on his shoulders, the god must had stalked around the couch to hug him from the back.

"Does it really upset you so much that I will leave?" Amusement still lay in his voice and Tony hated that tone.

"It really amuses me, Anthony..."

Loki began and walked around the couch to sit right next to the man, casually taking the glass out of his hand and placing it on the coffee table.

"...that my departure worries you more than me having my powers, killing innocent."

Tony just groaned at this, wanting to reach out for the scotch, but was held by Loki, much to his displeasure. This man-handling really bugged him now.

"You really are cock-sure of yourself, trickster."

There was more venom in his voice than he intended to, but the god was straight-faced as always. He looked almost bored of the human before him.

"Oh, I know what your pitiful mind came up with." A warm mouth wrapped around Tony's earlobe. "And yes." Loki breathed, sending shivers through his body. "I wouldn't recoil from using you for my advantages."

"Charming."

The engineer stared to the other end of the room, obviously not fond of the god's honesty.

"Funny how every conversation with you is so tiresome. I thought you always lie and I'd hate that, but actually I think I prefer you lying. You telling the truth is actually scary."

Loki chuckled against his ear.

"Oh, poor mortal."He teased and ran a finger down Tony's chest. "Me using you."

Tony looked into a confident grin and crooked an eyebrow.

"Yes, Anthony I did and will in the future and I'll enjoy every second of it."

Tony knew what he hinted at and tsked.

"But don't dare to think I will leave you behind here. No one else will ever get you, you are mine."

His expression changed to something ineffable menacing and Tony gulped. Now he really was bewildered. Hungry eyes locked on him and Loki grinned like a cat, ready to pounce his prey.

"I will lock you away."

Loki leaned in and put his arm around the man before he licked over his collar-bone.

"I won't ever have enough of this beautiful body of yours, Anthony. Do not worry."

Tony didn't know if this was a threat or a promise and when Loki's other hand found his crotch, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Definitely not in the mood."

The god chuckled at this and whispered into his ear.

"We will change that."

Before Tony could protest, he was spun around to face the raven-haired man. A hand cupped his growing erection and he cursed himself for being so easy to manipulate. Loki pulled the man to him and pressed his lips on Tony's, tongue darting out to lick at them, until they parted and granted him entrance. Tony couldn't help but kissed back, enjoying those soft lips on his own. Their tongues were battling for dominance before Loki pulled back and bit down hard on Tony's bottom lip, drawing blood. Yelping in pain and Tony wanted to shove him away.

"Fuck you, bastard!" He snarled, only to get pushed on his back by the god.

He often forgot that Loki was still strong, despite his lacking powers. Tony was held in Loki's grip, hands pinned down over his head and he growled and cussed at the aggressiveness the god displayed. Apparently Loki didn't like the way Tony acted and grimaced, letting go of his wrists and clenching down on his neck, cutting off the air.

"You make this pretty hard for yourself, but as I said, I always get what I want."

His grip tightened until Tony clawed at the hands and stared back into those furious, green eyes, at which Loki released his neck and shoved his hands under the man's top.

"Don't think I would stop, just because you are..." Loki narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously. "...not in the mood."

Tony's mouth stood open. This really wasn't good. He hadn't seen the god so aggravated in a long time and he tried to not focus on the hands exploring his body, but failed miserably when fingers brushed his waistband. He tried to prove a point, at least that's what he thought he was doing. But when the god would continue to caress him like that, his restraint would soon falter. Damn his electrifying fingers. With a start, Loki lifted his hip and pulled hard on his pants and boxers, yanking them off and down to his ankles, leaving him half-naked. Tony was startled by the sudden move, the spitefulness with which the god acted.

"And what exactly do you plan on doing?!" Tony spat and was rewarded with a vicious growl and a hand covering his mouth.

He was mumbling something incoherent, grumbling and struggling against the man's grip. A warning gaze was shot his direction, before the god released his mouth.

"Your punishment for rejecting and not trusting me."

Loki grabbed the half-hard cock and stroked a few times, making Tony ache his back.

"I know what you are thinking, your train of thought is too easy to read. And I won't tolerate this behavior, it has to be corrected."

Tony clenched his jaw, lips forming a thin line, completely not impressed by the man's speech until he felt his hot mouth around his dick.

"Fuck." Was the only thing he brought out, hips bucking, fucking the wet warmth of Loki's mouth. He whined when Loki backed off, wanting more.

"You are mine, Stark." He hissed, before he licked teasingly over the head, making his cock twitch. "You will follow what ever direction I give you."

Tony couldn't reply, completely speechless when Loki swallowed him to the hilt and started bobbing his head, only to stop just a second later. By now his cock was fully erect, standing proud in the air, craving for more attention. But Tony wouldn't let this slide so easily, tried to focus on anything but Loki's ministrations.

"Why even bother when you leave anyway?" He snapped. This time it was the god groaning in clear annoyance.

"Would you feel better if I'd tell you I won't?"

His face was serious, and Tony was actually considering it, but it was clear that this would be a lie. Maybe if he didn't knew about him lying, then it might have been acceptable, but now, not working at all, especially with this expression. A moan escaped his throat when Loki messaged his balls and he tried to get at least some words out.

"That would be lies, I don't want lies, and really? I don't know when you are not lying."

It didn't seem like the god was overly affected by that statement, he still caressed Tony's tights, barely looking up to meet the man's eyes.

"Your species has problems accepting certain things, I know, boy. But don't think you are so very different from me."

This made Tony alert and he snorted, despite the pleasure running through his body.

"Well I'm not a notorious liar."

"So bending everyone over to fit your wishes and plans, manipulating everyone around you with wit and sarcasm is any different? You think it sets you apart from me? Droll."

He said with an indifferent face, dragging fingers over his sensitive flesh. Tony wanted to bitch about how this wasn't true and how Loki seemed old as fuck, but was cut off by the god stroking his straining member.

"Hush, boy, focus on your orgasm."

"Oh, fuck you!"

At this moment, Loki leaned over Tony, face merely an inch away from the engineer's and hissed.

"Don't talk like that, you are pressing your luck and I was being more than generous until now."

The engineer smirked into the other's face, confident and cocky.

"Or else? What could you possible do that..."

He was interrupted by a finger, circling his entrance, teasing the tight ring of muscles. Tony suddenly became aware of his position and he started to panic, squirming to get away from the invading digit.

"Hey, hey, wait a sec!" Tony pressed out, eyes wide and distressed by Loki's snickering.

"Your withering does only stir my desire."

A growl left Tony, struggling against the tight grip of the god above him. A hand slid under his tank top again, clawing at the reactor in Tony's chest and he went rigid almost immediately. He shouldn't ever let him touch it, now the trickster was using it against him and Tony cursed under his breath. That bastard really didn't have any honor.

"Oh, that's what we are doing now? First a one nightstand, then rape?" He ranted, furious by the god acting this way. Loki just huffed.

"Rape?!"

His voice was low, threatening even and he was glaring daggers at the man.

"I will make you feel good, Stark, despite your nagging and inappropriate language, or the fact that you've insulted me this whole day."

Tony ground his teeth.

"If only you would keep your mouth shut." The god hissed, before he planted kisses on the man's neck, fingers still lingering on his entrance. "Why not simply surrender and enjoy?"

"Piece of shit."

Loki heaved a sigh at the insult and sat up, looking down on the man, lust still visible in his green eyes.

"I will be merciful with you. I know you are weak and enraged because of the thought that I will leave you behind and I enjoy you being in this state too much to punish you with a beating or taking you without preparation."

Loki moved onto his knees, bowing down to lick over the man's shaft again, clawing at his hips to keep him from escaping. Tony shouldn't have bucked his hips so shamelessly, but Loki's tongue was too skilled to just not react to it. But he couldn't keep his thoughts from wandering. Sure, he had bottomed before, but that was way back in his crazy time and that hadn't been very pleasant for him. It had hurt, and pain was something he wasn't very fond of. He had experienced some weird kinks in his life, but masochism was not his thing. But now he was lost in the pleasure of Loki's mouth around him, sucking and licking at the sensitive head and he didn't notice the finger pressing inside him until it was too late. The feeling was strange, not unbearable. The god made sure to keep his brain occupied. Still, he winced when Loki started moving his finger.

"How beautiful you writhe for me, Anthony." He crooned.

"Fuck off!" Was pressed out and the god couldn't help but grin in amusement at the resistance.

"I thought sex is what defines you, playboy?"

"Yeah when I'm on top!" The smaller man spat at which Loki only shook his head and grunted.

"I already granted you this pitiful desire to claim me, isn't it my turn now?"

He couldn't answer that. Tony knew that the god was as or even more dominant than him and really, he hadn't thought to keep him submissive forever, but he had wanted to cling to that thought. A second finger entered Tony and a sharp burning pain flooded his lower body, making him want to squirm, to no avail. Loki's grip was painfully hard on his hips, making it impossible for him to get away. The fingers were working him open, mirroring scissor motions, teasing and stretching him. They brushed against the fine bundle of nerves inside of him and Tony saw white, moaned shamelessly now and rocked himself back on the fingers subconsciously.

"You are so delightful." The god stated and almost pulled his fingers out, only to slam them back in, making the man squirm once more.

"Your mouth claims your discomfort, but your body's reaction is so much more honest." The god purred and made sure to aim for his prostate again. Tony clenched his jaw.

"Shut up..."

He pressed out and bucked his hips against the digits, he couldn't deny that it felt good. It was refreshing to have someone taking the lead, just this once, of course and he would deny to have ever admitted this later. Tony ached his back when a third finger entered him.

"Fuck."

The engineer groaned. Loki smirked and slapped his tight playfully.

"How beautiful you mortals can be."

The first time Tony had bottomed, it had happened been in a drunken stupor and thus had been completely crap. But it was different with Loki, the god knew how to please and did it with skill. Much like Tony himself, save that Loki had thousands of years experience. And he would have been disappointed if the god was boring between the sheets. Still, he wasn't confident with this role. Tony raised his gaze and lost himself in the god's eyes, looking down on him, dark with lust. Loki seemed to have picked up on the spark of doubt and kissed the man's tight.

"Believe me, I will make you feel good, Anthony."

He still grumbled, suppressing a moan when the fingers moved inside him again, but the god's husky voice did the desired effect and made him surrender.

"J-Just this once."

Offering a small smile, Loki continued to whisper soothing words.

"I can cease doing this, if you'd want."

The fingers pulled out and Tony whined at the loss.

"Don't play around, hurry up if you want to do this." Tony snapped and suddenly Loki's expression changed from aroused to hostile in just a second.

"You want me to end this quickly? Hurry?!"

He roared dangerously at the man underneath him.

"You ungrateful, impatient, little brat! Whenever it doesn't go as you want it to, you nag and grouse."

Tony just stared, unable to reply to the god's outburst. All of a sudden he was flipped onto his stomach, painfully held down by Loki, who used his height and weight to render him useless. Pants and boxers were discarded to the floor, legs parted with force and Tony's grip on the armrest tightened when he heard Loki unzip his pants.

"I have enough of these antics..."

Tony felt Loki's hard cock press between his cheeks, sliding over his entrance, drawing whimpers out of him, whereas the god groaned wantonly. The head of Loki's cock teased the rim, before he pushed inside, burying himself to the hilt inside his lover. Pain spread through Tony's whole body and he cried out in distress. He was trembling, grit his teeth and didn't get a moment to adapt. Loki clawed at his hips and started rolling his hips.

"You wanted me to hurry up, now cope with it." He snarled and pulled out to slam back in.

His eyes were closed, a low moan escaped his throat and Tony winced with every thrust, nearly sobbing because of the burning pain. He had resigned to the situation by now, accepting that there was no pleasure anymore, but then the god leaned over him, caressed his back and planted kisses on his shoulder blades, stilling his movement.

"Was this too fast for you?" The tone was biting, despite the gentle gesture.

For a brief moment Loki didn't move, hands sliding over Tony's sides to ease the pain. Tony only noticed how hard he was when Loki reached down to grab his straining cock, pumping a few times. Loki slowly rolled his hips, drawing whimpers out of the man, still stroking his cock to distract him from the burning. Tony felt the god's hot breath on his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. He was panting and he could tell that he was holding back for his sake. At least now. Bastard. A thumb brushed over the head of his cock and Tony moaned under him. At the same time the god pulled out and pushed back in, careful to stroke Tony in time with his thrust, blending pain with pleasure.

"Oh, aren't you a wanton little slut. This position suits you so much more."

Tony was lifted onto his knees, allowing the god to change the angle to aim at the man's prostate. He tried to stay silent, tried to preserve his composure, but couldn't help but cry out when the cock brushed against the fine bundle of nerves, letting him see stars.

"Do that again!"

He suddenly pleaded, making the god laugh out loud.

"These are the first smart words leaving your filthy mouth today, boy."

And Loki complied, hitting the spot over and over again, resulting in Tony burying his face in the cushions, panting hard. He started moving his hips back, meeting Loki's thrust, but the rhythm was still agonizing slow and Tony needed more.

"Come on..." It was dangerously close to a whine. "Faster."

But the command was deliberately ignored. After another few, too slow thrusts, Tony abandoned his pride.

"Please, Loki..."

The begging charmed a smile out of the god and he gripped the man's hip to slam in hard. Tony groaned in pleasure, panting into the cushions and shutting his eyes. His cock ground against the couch with each thrust and he ached his back to get more of the sweet friction. It was then that Loki pinned him down with his weight, propping himself up with his arms and licking over Tony's neck.

"That's how I like you." He breathed into his ear. "Nothing like your usual self, completely wanton and submissive."

When Tony looked over his shoulder, through half-lidded eyes, the god gnarled and intensified his rhythm, pounding into him with more force. It didn't take much for Tony to reach his climax and he came on the couch with a scream. Loki fucked him through the aftermath of his orgasm, but pulled out when Tony clenched down too hard on him and started to stroke himself. His tank top was violently shoved up and Tony wasn't sure what happened until he heard a moan behind him and felt warm cum dripping on his back. The god breathed heavily and leaned against the backrest of the couch for support. He patted the man's ass teasingly and Tony would have complained, if he had the strength to do so. Loki zipped up his pants and turned to stand, attention drawn to the man when he started laughing.

"I will get back at you."

"Is that so?"

The god mused and knelt down beside the couch, watching Tony as he sat up and grimaced at the mess they had caused. Cum was running down his spine and Loki watched in amusement how Tony tried to wipe it away.

"I am expectant. Anyway, you should lie beneath me more often, it suits your nature so marvelously.

" He purred and handed the man his pants and boxers. Tony didn't look as ecstatic as the god, obviously still upset over this whole matter.

"Yeah...No. I will be sore for the next days thanks to you..."

He pulled his pants up and mobbed up his own cum with his boxer. Loki observed him for a while before a pleased smile formed on his lips.

"I look forward to the moment I get my powers back. There is so much to teach you, so much you never heard of in your short lifetime."

The engineer didn't look anywhere near impressed.

"Your megalomania begins to get tiring." He stated and shrugged.

"Stop the flattery, Anthony." The god retorted.

For a few minutes both men were silent, coming down from their high and enjoying the simplicity of just sitting beside each other. By this time Loki had laid his head back on the couch and Tony fumbled with his hair. Loki opened his eyes and looked into a tense face.

"It really bothers you."

"No." The man replied, not meeting Loki's eyes.

"If it makes you feel better I could truly lock you away and take you whenever I please."

Tony snorted and hit Loki on the head.

"Dream on, Rudolph."

He stood and stretched, legs incredibly tired all of a sudden. Loki's voice sounded behind him, still sitting on the ground, eyes closed and relaxed.

"What do you plan on doing about the woman?"

Tony wasn't sure who he was talking about.

"Who? Natasha?"

A quick glance was cast towards him.

"Yes, or everyone else. Will you tell anyone?"

The smug bastard was toying with him again.

"Yeah sure, I totally dig to be _interrogated _by her. Or any Shield agent. My favorite pastime."

He faked a smile.

"Actually."Tony began. "Why don't you tell Thor when we're at it?"

Roaring laughter echoed through the room.

"That would be glorious! You give me ideas, Anthony."

This was a reaction he hadn't expected. Instantly he threw his hands up.

"No, wait, wait, wait! You can't be serious. Don't, seriously, don't."

"Whatever you want."

The tone of his voice didn't reveal anything and Tony had trouble figuring out what that was supposed to mean. Especially when that grin clearly betrayed his indifferent voice. The god had gotten up from the floor and had sneaked up to him, hand in his hair, pulling him into his arms.

"Yeah, whatever. Kiss me." Tony sneered at him.

"With the greatest pleasure."

Soft lips captured his, kissing him passionately.


	19. Chapter 19: Exposure

**Chapter 18: Exposure**

A week had elapsed since their quarrel and Tony's involuntary bottoming. He had abandoned questioning the god's intentions. Loki had made sure that he was occupied, was really assertive in doing so and the engineer was easily convinced to take a break from all stressful thinking. Hammer and the current state of Stark Industries wore him out and whenever he got frustrated with either of these problems, he went on the god's nerves. And Loki was easily annoyed by the man's nasty habit to curse about it.

Actually, Tony still thought about the god leaving and when they once more argued about anything, he would bring it up again, only to get told to drop it. Tony, of course, wasn't about to just bow to him and annoyed him a great deal, with Loki resorted to bent him over his workbench to keep him from thinking of anything but the present. Pretty successful tactic. The god even got him to cut down every line to the Stark Tower, so they could pass some time without anyone intervening.

They spent more time in each other's company in general, albeit rarely talking, but minding their own business most of the time. The god was wasting his time with the newest collection of books Tony had bought him, while the engineer did what he could best. Inventing new things. But Loki was consistent in taking him whenever he wanted to. In these few last days, Tony was the one who played the submissive part, much to Loki's delight. And he enjoyed that he could let himself fall, not worrying about dominating or needing to take the lead.

The god was nothing like any past lover he had. Loki knew exactly what he did and Tony couldn't keep his brain from thinking about what he might do or was able to do, when he had his powers. The thought was scary, but extremely intriguing. This whole week was plastered with them fucking around and all Tony was thinking about was how he could pay him back. Making him submit and kneel for him. That idea alone turned him on like hell. And for tonight he had a special surprise for the god.

Loki sat on his favorite spot on the couch and skimmed through an encyclopedia when Tony walked into the room. He had worked the complete last day and Loki looked up from his book with a skeptical expression on his face. The man was grinning mischievously, while swinging an item around his finger. All this time, Loki followed the man with his eyes, until Tony sat down next to him and presented the thing he held in his hands. The god snorted and put his book away.

"And what do you plan on doing with that, Anthony?"

The amusement on his features mirrored in this voice.

"Let's play."

Tony*s confidence seemingly pleased the god.

"Oh, certainly." Loki closed in on the man and breathed into his ear. "I like your newly acquired submission. It suits you so well." He crooned.

But the arrogant smile didn't cease from Tony's lips. He pushed Loki back until he could look him in the eyes.

"Oh no, not today, my god." The use of the word made Loki's smile even wider. "This one is for you."

"Oh..." Cocking his head to side, the god drew a finger over the item. "Do you think you can handle me, Anthony?"

Tony spluttered at this and tilted his chin up.

"I did before. I can almost hear you screaming and begging for me to fuck you into the mattress."

An amused chuckle left Loki, then he nodded.

"Fine."

This was almost too easy. Tony had expected at least some kind of struggle and he felt something close to disappointment. But Loki wouldn't be himself if there wasn't a catch.

"I won't guarantee anything. Bowing down to anyone is not something I do. The only reason I participate in this, is my amusement over your ludicrous attempt to gain control."

The confident grin was met with a grimace.

"Oh shut up." Tony grunted. "Just for once, do as you are told."

The answer came instantly.

"Make me."

Challenge accepted. The leather fastener of the collar was opened and Tony grinned when he saw the sceptical expression on Loki's face. He brushed a few strands of black hair back and put the collar on the god. A leash came up and was snapped on the little metal ring. Just for the fun of it, Tony gave it a tug and immediately earned a snarl for it.

"I am no dog, Stark."

The words were forced out and Tony could see how he struggled with the idea of being vulnerable, not in control. A hand found Loki's hair and pulled his head back with force.

"I know, but as you said so yourself, you will learn your place."

The man faked a smile and stood, pulling again on the leash, gesturing for him to stand up, too. The actual choice of words made Loki laugh, before he conceded and followed him to the large armchair. He stood there for a few minutes, waiting for Tony to do anything, but the man just sat down, supported his head with his hand and stared right back. For a moment he admired the view. Loki standing there, at his mercy and damn it aroused him to have him like that. Tony had spent multiple hours on planing this through, how he wanted to do this and now that the moment was there, he would draw it out to the full extend. Loki watched a finger drawing circles in the air. With a raised eyebrow he looked up to the man's eyes.

"Show yourself to me."

He shook his head and turned his back on Tony, only to face him again. These antics really were common for mortals, always trying to bite of more than they could chew and Loki tried to stifle a grin. Their behavior was more than ridiculous.

"Come nearer."

One could tell that Tony enjoyed that power-play and when Loki took a few steps towards him, the leash was pulled again, making the taller man bending down.

"How about you strip for me?"

This was one of the things the god had waited for. Delicate fingers moved to unbutton his shirt. Slowly encircling every button, teasing the man in front of him with utter delight. He continued working hands over his own body, slowly tracing fingertips over his nipple and biting his lips. When he was about to play this game, then only on his conditions. And giving Tony a show was part of it. His shirt was hanging on his forearms now and Loki looked down into hungry, brown eyes, feeling satisfied with the reaction he got. Tony's lips were parted as he watched the god sliding fingers over his abs, while slowly undressing himself. The shirt dropped to the floor and the engineer couldn't take his eyes off the flawless body.

"Don't tell me this turns you on, mortal."

A tongue leashed out and licked over his lips, before fingers went down to the waistband of Loki's pants, opening the belt and let them slide down slender hips. Loki stepped out of it and Tony immediately pulled at the leash and gestured for him to keep going. The god huffed and yanked off his boxers, now standing naked in front of the smirking human. Seeing him like this was a privilege very few beings came to enjoy over the last centuries. But of course Tony just appreciated the fact that he was naked, not that it was something special. Tony's eyes locked on the half-hard cock and he smirked.

"Turn around."

The command was quickly executed and Tony was standing again, ran fingers over the god's back, making him shiver. When he felt handcuffs tying up his hands, he obviously had trouble to hold still. After the whole New York thing it was understandable that the god didn't liked to be enchained, but still, he let it happen.

"You know I could stop if you're too uncomfortable with that."

It was more of a teasing than anything else and the god snorted.

"Please, Anthony. I doubt you could do anything severe to me, or that you are so stupid to try it out. If I didn't trust you with this, I wouldn't have agreed to such a play. If I weren't comfortable I would end this."

Tony just stared for a moment, then rolled his eyes.

"Yeah and it doesn't have anything to do with your hard-on. Sure. Totally doesn't turn you on to be tied up. Kinky, slutty god." He sneered.

Hands then roamed his body, touching and exploring every inch of him. Loki felt the man's erection pressing into his back and bit back a moan when the fingers slid over his hips, barely reaching the tip of his dick.

"You're so gorgeous." The compliment didn't seem to have the desired effect and as Loki opened his mouth, baring his teeth, Tony yanked hard at his hair.

"You don't talk back."

A death-glance was cast over his shoulder and Tony just smiled in return, sat down again and played with the leash in his hand. After a few minutes of silence, no one doing anything, the god grew frustrated, feeling more and more awkward just standing there. Sure, he knew that the mortal did this on purpose, but it edged him on. Tony just watched him being uncertain and annoyed, but the man's eyes fixed on him made him more and more prurient. And when Loki noticed the man cupping himself through his jeans, he couldn't help but close his eyes and heave a sigh.

"How about kneeling."

The voice caught him by surprise and really, this command was more of a payback. He grimaced, reluctant to comply, but still knelt down in front of the man.

"Good boy." Tony praised and touched his cheek.

He could see Loki's cock twitch under his gaze and he made a mental note to do this as often as possible. Damn, he loved him on his knees. And he couldn't keep the thrill of anticipation off of his face.

"Maybe there's something you want to do to show your gratitude towards me? You never thanked me for taking you in."

Loki didn't answer, so Tony decided to push a little further. He already knew what he wanted him to do, and with a little help he would get the hint.

"What? I didn't quite catch that."

He pulled hard on the collar, bringing Loki even closer to him, making him look up through half-lidded eyes, already panting and Tony noticed how flustered he was.

"Open your pants."

His voice was hoarse, full of need and Tony freed his straining cock. Within the next second Loki was bending over his lap, starting to lick over Tony's shaft, making him groan in pleasure. Black hair covered his face and Tony brushed it back, so it wouldn't get in his way. A tongue swirled around his head. It was more than messy without being able to get the help of his hands, but that only stirred Tony's lust.

"Gosh, I love when you do that." He whispered, which encouraged the god to do it again.

Loki was about to swallow him whole, when Tony pushed him away. Feline eyes looked up to him and Loki's tongue licked over his own lips. The man could tell how hard it had to be for him to obey, to not touch or get touched. By now he was shivering with need, kneeling on the floor, desperate for any kind of attention.

"Come here."

He got up from the ground slowly, legs tired from sitting on them.

"What do you want to do now?"

The question was ringing in Loki's ears.

"Fuck me." He shot back without any trace of shame.

"Make me."

The man retorted and Loki was quick on getting on to his lap, wanting to push himself down on him, but Tony held his hips up, making it unable for him to position him right. A whine escaped his throat and Tony just chuckled at this.

"I'm addicted to the noises you make, god of mischief. So wanton."

Patience was not something Loki was fond of, but Tony enjoyed this just too much to be easy on him. Fingers found Loki's entrance, teasing the skin there, without actually entering. Loki suddenly hissed at him.

"Oh, so you don't want any preparation?"

"I can take it, Stark."

Whenever the god used his last name, Tony knew that he might have taken it too far. Not that he was scared or anything, but Loki had a tendency to be resentful, even after days had passed. So that request was fine with him. His hands gripped the god's hips firmly and he pressed into him, making Loki ache his back and lay his head onto his shoulder for support.

"Gosh, you're so tight."

Moaning, he rolled his hips, one hand moving along Loki's spine soothingly. He let the god do all the work, occasionally bucked his hips to meet Loki's rhythm, but apart from that he barely moved. Loki was silent, except for panting against his neck and Tony could tell how exhausting it had to be for him in this position.

"Faster, Stark." Was breathed into his ear.

"Not your call." He grunted and lifted him up on his feet, Loki wincing at the loss and standing on shaky legs in front of the man again. Through deluded eyes Loki noticed how Tony started to stroke himself, slowly and lazily, with a grin on his face.

"Damn you, pathetic ant..."

Tony loved when he started to swear, so he moved a thumb over the sensitive head, moaning loudly and Loki couldn't take his eyes off of him. Flushed with need the god struggled against the handcuffs, wanted to touch him so badly.

"Anthony..." Loki growled low in his throat. "Don't make me beg..."

In that moment, Tony stood, dragging the god with him by the leash and forcing him down, face first, on the dining table. His ass hung over the edge, making his leaking cock grind against the surface and Loki moved his hips unconsciously.

"No grinding."

The collar was yanked back hard and before Loki could form any kind of word in his mouth, his cheeks were spread and he felt Tony's erection on his ass. The head was barely touching the rim when Loki tried to push his hips back, but Tony held him steady, enjoying the moment of control. Another whine sounded through the room and it was enough to make Tony push all the way in until he was buried to the hilt. The god ached his back, unable to do anything else, tied up like this, and groaned in pleasure. The man started to thrust into him and soon lost himself in the feeling and the sweet sounds that escaped him. By now Loki was desperate for his release. His eyes were closed, lips parted, his hair hanging over his face.

"Anthony, please." He pleaded, making Tony grab his ass and pound into him like a madman.

It didn't take long until Loki came with a scream on the table, clenching down on the man's dick. Tony groaned and followed him, spent himself inside the god. He tried to support his weight with his arms to not collapse on top of him. Both were panting, Loki more than Tony, seemingly tired and he bowed down to plant a few kisses on the man's shoulders. One of his hands brushed the mess of hair back, stroking him affectionately, before brilliant green eyes shot open and looked at him with such intensity, Tony had to swallow down the lump in his throat. He leaned in and kissed him passionately. If he didn't knew better, he would have described this moment as loving, but Tony wasn't the one who would say such a word out loud, and neither was Loki. So he discarded the thought and helped him up.

Loki was leaning against the table, legs still tired and Tony shot a glance over the god's shoulder to see the mess they had caused. Again. His laugh was interrupted by a soft whine. Tony noticed how his cum ran down Loki's leg and how he grimaced at the feeling. He gave the leash a playful pull and brushed his lips once more against the man's. Instead of grumbling, the god just sighed and smiled into the kiss.

"We need to clean you up, Lokster."

The god huffed at the nickname and observed the man zipping up his pants and moving to get him his shirt.

"Come on, turn around." He said gently and untied his hands.

Loki took the shirt off of Tony's hand and pulled it over, before massaging his sore wrists. The handcuffs were discarded on the ground when Loki's arms came around his neck and pulled him into a hug. Out of the corner of his eyes Tony could have sworn he saw something moving, but discarded the thought when Loki's lips found his again until he heard the elevator's doors closing. Both of them spun around to see Pepper standing there, documents in her hands, wearing an expression on her face as if she had seen the devil himself. Her mouth opened to say something, but no sound came out. The papers dropped to the floor and before Tony could do anything, the woman began shaking her head, stumbling backwards until she hit the wall behind her. Within an instant he was next to her and grabbed her arm.

"Pepper wait." She struggled. "Come on, let me explain!"

The woman didn't want to listen, she tried to call for the elevator, but Tony made her face him again.

"Now wait a second. Pep please."

At this exact moment Pepper found her voice again.

"There is nothing to explain, Tony!" She almost screamed at him and gestured towards the god. "This is Loki! Terrorist, murderer! And you...you!"

The anger made her stutter and she tried to free herself from the man's grip, but to no avail. Tony murmured and averted his gaze.

"I know this."

The answer made her even more upset.

"And you don't care?! You really are the most egoistic, stupid and dick-driven man existing on this planet!"

Pepper was still shaking her head and stared at him in bewilderment.

"How could you do this? To your team, to the people of New York, to me?" She closed her eyes and wiped away a tear forming in her eyes. "You don't even seem to get what this means."

Never had he seen her so aggravated in his life. Pepper had always been the calm and reasonable one, but now she screamed and cursed, it scared him.

"What were you thinking?"

The hurt expression turned into a bitter laugh.

"Oh, right, you never use your brain when it comes to this..."

A hand moved over her face.

"What was I expecting."

She dropped her head and stared to the ground. Tony looked down on the female and sighed.

"Pepper, calm down, it's not..." He began but was interrupted soon after.

"What is it then? Do you want to tell me that you don't fuck the god of mischief?"

Well, there really wasn't anything he could say to this, so he shot a look over his shoulder and blushed when Loki still stood there, half-naked in only his shirt, apparently enjoying this argument. A whimper caught his attention again. He had never meant for her to see any of this.

"I just...can't..."

Desperation sounded through her voice and he wanted to touch her cheek to calm her down, but she slapped his hand away.

"Pep, this is not the end of the world." Tony shrugged. "Who cares if I screw him. It's not as if sex would cause a catastrophe or something."

"Fury will care about that." Was the only thing she said after a minute.

And suddenly Tony started to feel insecure about this. Generally he could trust her with everything, but now, he wasn't so sure about this anymore. A slight smile crept on his lips.

"Pepper, stop. Please don't be ridiculous. What I do in my free-time is none of Shield's business."

"No Tony." Her face was dead serious now. "You will drag everyone down with you."

In this moment Tony couldn't do anything but let her go and watch in sorrow when Pepper collected the documents from the ground and handed them to him.

"Pepper, please..."

It was the last resort, begging that she won't go to Shield and tell them. Maybe even understand him. But that might have been too much to ask.

"Just... Don't."

Pepper turned to leave, shaking and crushed, but Tony reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Please don't tell him."

The sadness in her face hurt him, he never intended on offending her in any way and now she looked at him with those blue eyes. If they would have been still together he would have hugged her, but now he didn't dare to do it. For a long time they had been the most important person for each other and Tony felt as if he had broken their connection for sure this time. And he would love to say he regretted what he did with Loki, but he didn't. Not one second of it.

"What does he mean to you."

Peppers voice brought him back to reality. It was barely more than a whisper and Tony once again looked over to the now dressed god.

"I don't know." He admitted and just saw a nod.

"You should make up your mind."

Tony could only sigh when Pepper took her leave. Of course she was right, he really had to think about that. It was silent in the room until he felt hands on his hips and Loki burying his face in his neck.

"Don't mind that woman." A murmur left the smaller man. "She won't tell anyone."

The confidence in the god's voice made Tony frown.

"And how exactly would you know that."

Lips moved over his neck and he leaned into the touch, savoring the caresses.

"I can tell by her body language. It is quite obvious, really. She might say otherwise, but one can clearly see she is still attached to you. Why is it you decided to get rid of such a woman?"

Tony gulped. Why was he suddenly interested in this?

"She left me."

"I see. You really are bothersome."

"Hey!" He snapped and was rewarded with a chuckle next to his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "Didn't find me so bothersome earlier."

"Indeed, that was refreshing."

Tony grinned to himself, satisfied with the answer.

"I knew you liked it."

The fishing for compliments made the god sigh. Even one of the most influential men on this planet seemed to have self-doubts. Amused by the man, he decided to give him a bone.

"Yes, Anthony. I like non-boring, exciting and dangerous things. That's why I got involved with you after all."

Tony felt teeth digging into his flesh and he clenched his teeth.

"Addicting. That's what you are." The intonation was angrier than before and Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

"You seem to be annoyed about that."

The god gnarled and Tony turned around to see him grimace.

"I am, Anthony. You shouldn't have such an impact on me, yet here I am..."

The engineer snorted when Loki continued to lick over his ear.

"That sounded so lame." He could imagine the god to roll his eyes. "And it sounds like you are in..."

"No."

It came quick like a shot.

"Don't worry. Physically I am quite intrigued by you, but love?" Loki huffed a laugh. "This is no love, Anthony."

He should be reassured by this. But instead he ground his teeth and couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Well, now that's a relief."

Loki threw his hands in the air and moved back a few steps, clearly overacting.

"Oh, are we thinking again? Why does your species has such trouble with appreciating what it has? So tiresome. Maybe that's why she left you."

Tony knew that he wanted to wind him up, like he did always so well, but for some reason, he didn't really care. When Pepper decided to tell Fury, so be it. Nobody dictated him who he fucked. It was no one's business. Still, he was scared how all this would work out. And Loki also said it. Their... relationship was hot and exciting. And his body and mind craved more and more for the man. It was more than mere lust. Even when that aspect clearly out-weighted everything else at the moment. He was perfect. A god. Flawless skin, silky hair and a lean, but well toned body. Tony never had someone like him. Maybe he was just too perfect. He wanted to spend the rest of his life touching and caressing the smooth skin, bathing in the sounds the god made when he made him come.

"So rapt in thought."

Tony noticed the collar fasten around his neck from behind and he laughed, turning around to face the taller man and kissed him urgently. The god returned the gesture and moved soft lips against the engineer's, before licking over his bottom lip.

"Yes, too addicting."


	20. Chapter 20: A pretty face

_A/N: Hope anyone had a great week, I didn't, but well here's the new chapter. It's plot. Tell me if you liked it._

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**Chapter 19: A pretty face**

This was one of the moments Tony Stark was nervous. How this could actually happen remained a mystery. He just sat on a chair, outside of his old office in the official Stark Industries building and played with the documents he had brought along. Documents including the new India expansion policy. Considering, he had a reason to be nervous. Pepper, ex-girlfriend and theoretical boss, who had caught him red-handed fucking his arch-enemy, was inside that room. So, properly speaking, he had every right to be nervous. And now he was sitting on that chair, looking like a girl on her first date.

After a quick glance to his watch, he decided it was enough with the waiting and stood, moving over to the heavy, wooden doors and gently pressed down the handle. He peeked through the gap and entered, documents under his arm. This really wasn't a comfortable situation for him to be in. Days had passed without them speaking at all, until the office had slipped him a note to come here today. Pepper wasn't even talking directly to him anymore, and really, he understood. But still, he had that childish hope that she wouldn't take any rash actions. That was the whole reason for him being here anyway. He would be at his best behavior to calm her temper. Like he always did. And hopefully, she would forgive him his stupidity. Like she always did. Not that he thought of himself being stupid, but this woman liked to bathe in his defeat. And she deserved it in this case. The expression on her face still haunted him and she was right, of course. Involving oneself with Loki couldn't be healthy.

Tony gazed up to see Pepper on the phone, waving at him to wait until she was done. She didn't even deign to look at him. He took a seat and looked around while waiting for her to finish the call. The whole time she was grimacing, shaking her head at what ever the person on the other line said and frowned more than once, before talking back fiercely. Tony's sight fell on the perpetual motion machine, the thing that had bugged him before, he found those things irritating and wanted to put it away, but was cut off when Pepper slammed down the phone.

She sighed heavily and reached for the documents, skipping through them without saying a word. That actually didn't help with Tony's nervousness and he grew more uncomfortable by the minute. This must have been the longest silence between them since the unfortunate accident with that stripper.

"Hey Pep..."

A hand shot up to silence him.

"No. Just don't."

She continued to work through the papers, but Tony couldn't stand this anymore. Normally he would slap himself for the thing he was about to say, but it really seemed appropriated now.

"We need to ta..."

Again he was interrupted by the female, throwing him a perplexed glance.

"Talk? What... Now?" The puzzled expression turned into a more despised one. "Now you want to talk all of a sudden? That's great."

She faked a smile and shook her head before turning to the documents once again. Tony murmured mystifyingly at the sarcasm in her voice. It was clear she didn't want to have anything to do with this matter. But he couldn't just leave it alone. Maybe only to clear his conscience, or just to make sure she wouldn't talk with anyone about their little secret. Not that there was anything he could do if she decided to actually talk to Fury or Shield in general. If this had been anyone else on this entire planet, he would simply make them disappear. But this was Pepper he talked about. Kind and loveable Pepper. The only person that stuck with him, no matter what. So he tried again.

"Come on Pep, it's not that bad."

His eyes lingered on her closed ones, and he could see her fuming inside, he wasn't daring to say another word at the sight. Tony knew, when women were angry, it was okay when they screamed and insulted you and what not. But when they stayed silent, it was a bad sign. And Tony suddenly wanted to take the last sentence back.

"Not..." She started. "...so bad?"

Pepper asked, in an even and calm voice, before exploding, scaring the living shit out of the male.

"This is the most stupid thing you ever did, by far!" She snarled, Tony didn't even know she could do that, but rolled his eyes.

"No, not really, you know, that one time..." He wanted to expound, but the woman didn't seem to care, so he shut his mouth when she just stared at him in pure annoyance.

"Yes, taking criticism was never your strong side. You always try to justify every little thing you do wrong."

He couldn't really answer that without verifying her statement.

"Well, Mr. Stark." Pepper sorted the documents and stood to exchange her hand. "Thank you for your signature on these."

Tony was up in a second and raised an eyebrow at her, acting so unapproachable.

"Oh, cut me a break!" The man groaned. "It doesn't concern anyone what I do in my spare time. Not even you."

She kept staring at him with that bewildered face, apparently unable to make sense out of him.

"What?" Her voice was loud and shrill now, almost jumping on him. "It does concern me a great deal, Tony!"

She turned and paced the room, gesturing with her hands.

"Don't you ever think about someone else? What they think? The people or maybe even the press?"

Tony could see the pleading behind her hard gaze, but still, he couldn't switch off his defiance.

"Who the hell cares..."

"You should care!"

The smile that crept on her lips was sad and Tony regretted saying anything again.

"But yeah, you don't. As always." Pepper cursed under her breath and looked to the ground. "Because you are never interested in other people's opinion. And you don't need to bother, because I am always the one who has to smooth out your mistakes."

She ran a hand over her face, suddenly looking tired and exhausted.

"I have to explain to everyone why the name-bearer of Stark Industries, the famous Tony Stark has a relationship..."

A laugh escaped her.

"If you can even call it that, with the public enemy number one."

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but the woman kept ranting, didn't give him a chance to reply.

"I am the one who has to deal with customers and business associates staying out and the company go down the tube, only because you being selfish and think with your dick again!"

Up until now Tony could only watch the outburst in silence, the words just got stuck in his throat. It's not that he hadn't thought of this before. That was exactly why he had wanted to keep it to himself. Pepper shouldn't have ever get wind of it.

"Well I didn't plan on you come in while we're at it."

Judging by Peppers expression and the fact that her mouth stood open like this, the last thing must have been one of the most stupid things he had ever said.

"So..."

The woman tried to reflect what she had just heard, frowning and focusing on Tony.

"You want to say it's my fault, that you weren't intelligent enough to..." A sigh left her. "...to have sex somewhere else, but the living room?"

Tony thought about telling her that this was still his tower, but discarded the idea when Pepper huffed.

"I also would have preferred to not know about this. I even thought you did this on purpose."

Tony ignored the obvious disgust on her features and took a step towards her.

"What?" He narrowed his eyes. "Why should I?"

All he got was a look of reproach.

"The appointment? The little thing I reminded you like one thousand times of?"

Fuck. He knew he had forgotten something. Sometimes he really hated himself. Normally he had checked his schedule this morning, but due to Loki and his irresistible way of distracting him, he had forgotten. Yes, definitely his fail. Tony clenched his jaw and reached out for Pepper, looking apologetic.

"Fuck, Pep, I'm sorry. Really I am. I didn't..."

"Think? Yes, I noticed." The female closed her eyes and dropped her head. "And now I have to live with it."

This caught Tony's attention. He looked down on her and tilted her chin up, but Pepper just walked away from him.

"Wait. You won't go tell Shield? Did I get that right?"

Pepper stopped in her tracks.

"Well... I can't let the company's stock drop any lower. And that's what will happen when they throw you into prison."

Suddenly he was glad for her commitment. She had always been the right choice for the job.

"Although you would deserve it."

There wasn't anything he could do but roll his eyes at this. She was right as so often and rubbed it in.

"Thanks, then I guess." He brought out at last and Pepper once more looked at him, frustration in her voice.

"Just to be clear on one thing. I don't support this. At all. And I really pray that you will end this, but as I know you, that's out of question."

Her voice was calmer now, but full of bitterness and Tony couldn't stand this. He didn't want her to suffer, nor lose her. She just meant too much to him. But it seemed that one or even both of these things were inevitable.

"That's okay." He said soothingly, patting her shoulders.

They were too near, looking at each other, before Pepper broke the eye contact and averted her gaze.

"Even with my help this won't go well on the long turn." Her blue eyes locked on his again. "Are you sure that he takes it as serious as you?"

This was still the million dollar question. Really, he had no answer to this. They had talked, fought and forgot about it, but it still lingered in Tony's head. He knew that thought wouldn't just go away. And since this was Pepper he talked to, she knew exactly that he had doubts. She also took the lack of talking as a confirmation that he, indeed, had no clue. Smart girl.

"That's what I thought..."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me, I know all that. He will leave anyway."

"Doesn't make the situation any better... Don't roll your eyes!"

Tony just smiled smugly at her.

"We need to keep it a secret, if the press finds out, we're done. So..." Pepper held her finger to his nose, making the man feel like a child. "No going out together, or…"

"Don't get caught again?"

This made him actually chuckle and even Pepper couldn't help but smile slightly while shaking her head at him. She punched him on the arm and moved away to look at something on her computer.

"Start behaving like an adult, that would help your cause a lot." She mused. "Is there someone else who knows about your idiocy?"

Before Tony could decide whether he would tell her the truth, Pepper groaned in annoyance and shot him a glance.

"Who?"

This mind-reading could be extremely creepy sometimes.

"West." He sneered.

"I should have known..." The woman massaged her temples and supported her weight on the desk in front of her. "Anyone else?"

"No..."

"Hopefully stays that way. We have enough on our plate for now with you and Hammer."

She said that so indifferently and off-handedly that Tony choked on his on saliva. How did she know about any of this? He hadn't told anyone but Shield. And he really hoped that the secret organization could actually keep a secret.

"What do you mean?" He asked and tried to keep a straight face.

Pepper just stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"Where did you live the last week? He is out of prison. It was all over the news."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Tony went around the desk to look over her shoulder. And yes, there it was. And he wanted to kill someone for it. Hammer had been released for good behavior. Ridiculous. This was the moment Tony damned the world and it's inhabitants. Shield knew that Hammer had been on the loose. He had told them. And now he couldn't do anything but laugh in hysteria.

"Good behavior, my ass!"

"Unfortunately, this is not just your personal problem. We already lost five partners because of him."

Even when Pepper showed him the flowchart, he couldn't quite believe this.

"Why?"

"Allegedly because he produces with less cost."

Pepper shrugged, while Tony still stared at the numbers on the screen.

"Oh, come on! Does nobody want quality anymore?"

"Well. Can't do anything about that now. This was the reason I wanted to talk to you by the way." Blue eyes looked up to him. "We need to get you out more. Alone."

The engineer rolled his eyes. He wasn't fond of peddling around. Sure he was a good speaker, good with people, but those bastards decided to dump him, and he was fine with it. They would see how long Hammer Industries' technology lasted until it would break up. But his conscience piped up and told him that he owed her more than just this. So he might as well get dragged around by her.

"What ever you like, darling." He said charmingly and smiled at her, but the female just waved it off.

"Okay, now that we have clarified that..."

Tony couldn't react as fast as she stood and grabbed his arm.

"Happy has prepared a suit for you in the rolls-Royce. I want you to be ready in half an hour." She chirped, suddenly sounding quite cheerful and shoved him out of her office. "Be on time."

* * *

Tony was sitting in the car, prim and proper, how Pepper liked to put it and waited for said woman to finally get in. Generally he was the one being late, not the other way around. Even Happy wasn't at his usual place behind the steering wheel. The engineer was bored to death until he spotted the redhead and the driver in front of the building. They were talking. In fact, Pepper was laughing and touching Hogan's arm while they walked to the car. The smile she gave him made Tony cringe. Since when were they so intimate with each other. Not that it bothered him too much, but the sight was strange nonetheless. Tony thought about himself, about him and Loki. He couldn't recall a single occurrence that the god had actually smiled like that. Did he want him to? He wasn't sure, but one thing was clear. He would rather be with him than looking at those two right now. Both of them got in the car and Tony still eyed them suspiciously when Hogan started the car.

"I was here on time."

He said sheepishly, barely loud enough for Pepper to hear. The woman just rolled her eyes at this.

"Would you be so kind, Happy?"

* * *

It was one of those events he didn't like. Charity galas. Boring scheme, boring guests. He hoped that at least the drinks would be good. Pepper linked arms with him and strutted over the red carpet, careful to smile for every camera on their way. Tony didn't bother so much, faking a smirk now and then, but most of the time appearing completely indifferent. He briefly wondered for what they collected donations this time. Sure, he was interested on what his company did, charity wise, but he had long since abandoned the idea of remembering every little fund-raising.

It didn't take long for them to get cornered by paparazzi and Tony slapped on his widest smile. Not that he enjoyed talking to any of those people, but it was really fun countering their offensiveness while smiling. And it also counted as professionalism to not be directly insulting. So, sure, let them ask their questions. A young male approached them first, almost getting in their faces, until Tony held his hands up to get a bit distance between them and him. The man didn't get the simple hint as it seemed and shoved his recorder under his nose.

"Mr. Stark! What do you have to say to the current state of Stark Industries? Why do you think the stacks are dropping like that? And how do you react to the rumors considering your person?"

Tony couldn't even answer before the next question came, quick like a shot. So he just shook his head.

"The company is prospering."

"What do you think of Hammer's newest step?"

Really? Tony didn't even know what he was talking about and this was the last thing he wanted to know anything of at the moment. So he lied.

"Not anywhere near threatening. As soon as the marketing campaign of West Technologies and Stark Industries airs, it will clear up any doubt."

The young reporter apparently hadn't expected this much of a statement, because for once, his mouth was open, but no question came out. But now the others spoke up.

"What's with...!"

Before he could complete his sentence, Tony interrupted.

"I think Ms. Potts is more suited to answer your question." He chirped and patted Pepper on the back. "So if you would excuse me..."

Stepping back, he made his way to the entrance to the hotel and waved one last time at her. The female just sighed and cast him an annoyed glance. Well, no one said anything about answering stupid questions. And he wasn't concerned about her, she would get them off her chest sooner or later. Tony entered the great main hall, already full with snobs minding their own business, until they laid eyes on him. Most of them seemed amazed to actually see him here. And yes, it wasn't common for him to attend such events. Normally Pepper was the one handling those for him. Anyway, he wouldn't survive this evening without a good glass of scotch, so his feet took him straight to the bar, his favorite spot for the rest of the evening.

Fortunately for him, the bartender could read minds, or couldn't stand this environment as much as he, because a glass was almost instantly shoved towards him and filled with a golden liquid. Might as well be someone who knew his drinking habits, since this was very much out in the open and for everyone to see. As he nipped on his drink, a chuckle right next to him dragged his attention from the scotch to the source of the voice.

"Hadn't expected to see the great Tony Stark here. Pleasant surprise." The female said without looking up from her glass.

This was one of the reasons Tony would go to one of those events. Women. And this one was exactly that type he would normally go after. He let his eyes wander over her body and damn, she was hot. Endless legs. Short, black dress. Athletic body, but curvy where it mattered. Her long, black hair fell over her shoulder when she looked up at him. She had brown eyes, at least that was what Tony could see through the long lashes. The woman raised an eyebrow at him when she noticed him staring. Her smile made it obvious that this was not the first time it had happened. She clearly knew how to behave around men. Tony turned to her and leaned in a bit more, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"I always wanted to meet you." She started, not once taking her eyes off of his. "The da Vinci of our time."

The flattery didn't fail to have the desired effect. Tony couldn't help but smile at this. He caught himself looking her over again and mentally slapped himself for it. Beauty always attracted him. He just couldn't do anything but look. And the playboy in him demanded him to flirt.

"Is that so?" He got out after a few seconds.

"Oh, certainly."

The woman played with one of her black locks, before she sipped on her drink.

"Your engineering has no equal. And this genius also is such an attractive man."

She was biting her lip. In fact, the whole time she was sending him clear signals and Tony did his best to ignore the intention behind this talk. Still, she was better company than any of those pricks. And more beautiful.

"With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

The woman giggled.

"Kara Williams."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Williams."

"Ms." She instantly corrected and winked at him.

"So." Tony began. "Is there a reason you are here today, Ms. Williams?"

"Call me Kara. And yes, actually I had hoped to meet you here."

There were multiple things Tony imagined her to want from him, but he was surprised when she told him about her MIT degree, he hadn't expected her to have any sort of education. Most of his one-night stands barely had more brain cells than a sandwich. But this woman was different. Actually fun to talk to. It had been too long since he had talked to someone as smart as himself, except for Bruce, of course. But even he didn't show himself anymore since he got to know that Loki lived in the tower. He missed the times when they worked for hours, often not even exchanging a word, but the silence was always comfortable between them. He had to invite him over again. Good old science-buddies sleepover. Tony was completely in thought until the female tapped him on the shoulder.

"Did you hear me?" Kara cocked her head to the side and frowned. "Inventors are always with their head in the clouds."

The engineer sighed and shrugged. "Go on."

He gestured with a hand and chugged his drink, only to get the glass refilled instantly. That bartender was one hell of a guy.

"So, as I told you before..."

The seductive glance had changed into an amused one.

"We have a project we need a test subject for."

This was something Tony was always uncertain about. Test subjects.

"What's it about?"

The better question was: Why did she come to him?

"We work on a cognitive technology thread warning system. And I would love to hear your thoughts about this."

Suddenly Tony was fully awake. Test subject didn't sound so bad after all. He had thought about a system like this for some time now. It would help them a great deal against those drones. And if Hammer really did plan something, that would thwart his plans. Tony liked the idea. Funny how a supposed to be boring evening could lead to this.

They spent the next hour talking about the project, laughing and flirting, Tony being totally delighted by the woman. It was when he had his fourth drink, that he noticed how close they actually were to each other. He was more than a bit drunk by now and Kara leaned in on him with a charming smile, whispering into his ear.

"We could go to my suite and... talk more about the project."

Tony was too distracted by the smell of her perfume and the hand touching his chest to form a clear thought. He didn't even know what he was doing anymore. The playboy in him was screaming to take advantage of this situation, but he hesitated.

"You sure you want to talk?" He slurred and grinned at the woman who now drew circles over his arc reactor.

"Yes." Kara purred. "I love talking."

"Sure."

Tony chugged his drink and stood, offering the female a helping hand, which was gladly taken. Someone cleared their throat behind him and when he turned around, he looked into reproachful blue eyes. Pepper grabbed his arm and took him aside, away from the black-haired woman.

"What the... What are you doing, Tony?" She glanced around, before focusing on him once more. "Do you plan on picking her up or...?"

The truth? He didn't know himself, there was definitely something in him that wanted to fuck her, but she only wanted to talk. Since when was he so naïve. She wanted to get him to realize her work. Just like many others before her. Didn't mean that he would play along, right? He could control his sex drive.

"I thought you were serious about your thing with... Loki. But one can never be sure with you as it seems."

She was frustrated. And yes, he could understand that, but she always assumed the worst. It would be one hell of a scene when Loki would catch him cheating. He would probably be dead then. Even Tony flirting with other people would drive him crazy. Such an obsessive bastard. But aggravating an Norse god was nothing he was too keen on.

"No, Pep." Tony finally answered. "I don't want to fuck her, she wants to discuss business."

The look he earned was a non-believing one.

"Sure. Business." Pepper repeated.

Tony ignored her and shot a smile to the woman, still waiting for him to finish this talk. Yes, the god would be pleased with his behavior and would try to discipline him again. Maybe not that bad of a thought. But damn, he was still Tony Stark. He had a reputation to lose. Pepper still looked skeptically at him and nodded.

"Pep, it's fine. She's into something that might help us attract new customers. Invest in future technology, your talking."

That was always the way to get her approval. Talking about the future of the company.

"And the concept is absolutely brilliant."

The redhead ran a hand over her face. She clearly was uncomfortable with him meeting that woman alone, but there might not be a way to stop him. Tony was always too stubborn to take advise to heart. So she waved at him and sighed.

"Fine. Do whatever you want. But please, don't betray my trust in you. The tiny bit that's left. Please."

Tony groaned in annoyance, before going back to woman, only to throw a...

"Yes, mum."

...over his shoulder.

Kara gently touched the man's arm.

"Shall we go, then?"

She smiled alluring and dragged him with her. When Pepper looked after them, the woman on Tony's side turned her head to stare right back at her. Her lips grew into a perfidious grin and Pepper didn't know how she should react to this. Both were out of sight when she turned to Hogan, who had waited a few meters away.

"Should I keep an eye on them, boss?"

He looked to the corridor they had vanished in, before he looked back to Pepper.

"Please. I have a bad feeling about this woman."

* * *

Kara led Tony to the suite, opened the door with her keycard and dragged him to another room. She went inside, and Tony looked after her only to see the king-sized bed in the middle of the room.

"You want to talk in the bedroom?"

The female sat down on the bed and crossed her legs. A smug smile played on her lips.

"What? Scared?" She retorted and waved him to her. "Come on in."

Tony shook his head and wanted to move, but felt suddenly dizzy. His legs were shaky for some reason and he rubbed a hand over his face to clear his view. He leaned against the door frame for support. Something was clearly not right. He felt sick, as if he were drunk and hung over at the same time. And he only had a few drinks.

"Something the matter, Mr. Stark?" The female asked flirtingly.

Tony shook his head. Shrugging the feeling off.

"No. Coming."

He stumbled forward until he reached the bed, looking down on her.

"So? Where's the project of yours. Anything you could show me?"

Kara smiled at him, while he held his head.

"You don't look so good, sure that everything is alright?"

The tone in her voice was not at all concerned, more amused for some reason and Tony felt his legs giving in. Kara watched him when he slumped down to the ground, still smiling and now towering over him.

"You know, the project..." Her hand found his cheek. "Is right here. And you are already part of it."

Tony growled in his throat.

"Fuck you, stupid cunt!" He cursed before his vision blurred and he passed out on the floor.


	21. Chapter 21: Retreat

_A/N: Actually I don't know if I should continue to publish this story. I don't know if people still enjoy to read it, actually. I will write it down till the end, but I don't know if I will keep posting it. There are barely any new followers since a few chaps back, so I will see about this. Might as well only take a break, dunno. Still, much love to those who still comment on my fic, I really appreciate it.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 20: Retreat might not be an option**

This was a situation Tony hated to find himself in. Unable to move his body, paralyzed, lying on the ground, like some discarded piece of trash. It reminded him of the Afghanistan incident and it scared the living shit out of him. He didn't know for how long he had lain here and a spark of panic rushed through him when he couldn't even move his hand.

Tony tried to open his eyes, vision still blurred, and suddenly remembered what had happened. Brown eyes stared at him, interested. The woman knelt next to him, focusing on him like a predator watching prey. Damn. What had the bitch given to him? And more important, when did that happen? He always paid attention to his drinks, but apparently not enough. And not, when it mattered the most. Great. His head hurt as if a truck had hit him right in the face.

Tony groaned when he heard a chuckle right above him. He tried to move his head to look at the female, but the only thing he saw was the robotic arm, threatening to beat him to death. The moment her arm moved to strike, Tony opened his mouth to speak. Fortunately for him, Kara was amused enough to still her movement and bow down even further.

"What was that?" She grinned and moved her ear to the man's mouth. "I couldn't quite understand you."

Tony gulped. This stupid bitch enjoyed her little play. And he would only be too pleased to stick her grin up her ass, if there wouldn't be the thing with not being able to move.

"Wait."

He pressed out through gritted teeth, but the word only caused the woman to laugh out loud.

"Oh, I should wait? Is the great Tony Stark begging right now?"

The fake concern didn't make him feel any less crept out by her. What was it with almost every woman in his life being somehow creepy.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"And what do you want, blah blah blah..."

She interrupted him, gesturing in the air with her robotic arms and rolled his eyes at him. As if he was the strange one here.

"These questions are getting old, why not asking something else, just for the sake of it."

Tony followed her with his eyes when she stood and strode around the room. For a moment there was silence, neither of them spoke a word and Tony did his best to get the feeling in his limbs back. His effort wasn't rewarded with anything but pain. He didn't want to know what kind of shit she had slipped into his drink. Fuck that bitch. As if his life couldn't get any worse, now there even were cyborgs after him.

"So?"

The woman turned her attention back to him.

"What's the deal? You didn't get me all high and dry just to stare at me, right? Not that I hadn't experienced this before. I totally had this one girl that..."

A hand yanked his head up by his hair.

"Shut up." Kara muttered before she released him again. "I don't plan on doing anything with you."

That didn't make sense.

"Then why am I lying here on the ground."

Kara sat down on the bed again and watched him with a disinterested expression.

"You, of all people should now that money talks."

Tony huffed at this.

"Who charged you?"

Her lips formed a little smile now.

"You seem to not know just how many enemies you have, Mr. Stark."

Now was really the time to stand up and get out of this room. The engineer tried to pull himself together, but to no use. The female just observed his wasted effort with amusement, didn't do anything to stop him. As if she was sure that he wouldn't be able to escape. He was barely able to lift himself on his elbows before collapsing again. Damn he felt weak. And how stupid he had been. Even Pepper had seen right through her and by this time he wasn't sure whether his brain or his dick did the thinking for him. Fuck those woman with their pretty faces and long legs. But she was right with one thing. There were many people who wished him death.

Apparently Kara had had enough with waiting for him to finish his interior monologue. His head was yanked up again, air cut off by a blade pressing dangerously hard against his throat. This wouldn't have been the first time someone wanted to slit his throat or stab him, but this wasn't a normal knife on his skin. Tony's eyes were wide open, gaping at the blade emerging from the woman's forearm. This was definitely a first. When did the world and its people started to turn into cyborgs? He was still frozen in shock, unable to comprehend all this when the female raised her voice once more, layered with perverse amusement.

"Well? Shall we play?"

Tony was still not able to move, not able to struggle or fight back when the blade cut through his clothes and skin, leaving bleeding wounds. On his arms. Then his back, making him cry out in agony and cursing the woman in the same breath, but his body didn't move except for writhing in pain. He clenched his fists, growling every time the blade came down, body shivering and sweating because of the distress. Kara did take pleasure from the hurting man in front of her, and repeated the procedure. Cut after cut followed. Blood dripping down his body, staining the former bright carpet a dark red.

It could have been hours of her torturing him, until a knock on the door seemed to save him, because suddenly Kara turned her head to the sound and the blade retracted into her arm. She glanced to the door, before her eyes quickly focused back on him.

"What a shame."

The laugh that followed when Kara got up from the ground gave him the creeps. There was a brief moment Tony could heave a sigh of release. Only now he noticed how many times she had cut him. His skin burned. Even the light fabric of his suit hurt. How the hell could this had happen. A cyborg. As if he was in a cheap sci-fi production. Actually, he had never expected anyone, but himself of course, to be able to... built such a thing. But the evidence was right there, so he thought about who in the world would be stupid enough to plot against him. Hammer excluded. The man even failed to tie his shoes.

Tony tried to move his head towards the mumbling in the other room, but the only thing he archived a cramp in his neck. Fuck, for how long had he been lying on this floor. Hopefully someone had noticed his disappearance. The murmuring came closer and Tony recognized a male voice talking to the cyborg. He refused to call that thing by a name. Before Tony could bend in the right direction to see the incoming man, a foot came down brutally hard on his head.

"Mr. Stark, how fortunate to meet you here. Have you waited long?" The man asked with dry sarcasm.

The foot left his skull a second later, leaving Tony with a thumping in his head which made his headache even worse. That bastard really had the brass neck to step on him as if he was some stupid doormat. And he was about to throw an insult in the man's face, but when he stepped into his line of sight, Tony had to abruptly swallow his words. He knew that face. The engineer growled when blue eyes stared down at him. The blonde man had gotten older and the last time he had seen him, he hadn't had those scars. His whole face were covered with them. It made sense. He was capable to construct such a machine. How could he have been so blind. A hand patted his head playfully, running through his hair and Tony hated the gentle gesture.

"What do you want, Clarke!?" Tony spat, making the blonde kneel down next to him.

The cyborg in the background only laughed. Clarke still fiddled with Tony's hair, obviously enjoying the man's anger and offered a charming smile.

"Why so hostile, Anthony?" Fingers tilted his chin up. "Are you not happy to see me? After all this time?"

The wounded expression had to be fake. After Tony had fired Stuart Clarke from the company, the man had snapped and sworn revenge. Well, at least he followed through with it. The mass of death-threats always came to nothing, so it was kind of refreshing in a very strange and masochistic way.

"Yeah I'm so happy, sunshine comes out of my ass. What do you want?"

Tony instantly regretted his cockiness. A knife went right through the back of his right hand. He hissed and closed his eyes in pain.

"You should work on that attitude of yours, Tony. And I thought you would be smarter than that."

Clarke petted him one last time and got up again. A gesture with his hand let the female vanish into the next room, only to reenter a few seconds later with a suitcase in her hand. She handed it to him with a smile. Tony hated that freak more and more. Slowly the sore and numb feeling in his legs and arms started to disappear and he swore, as soon as he had control over his body, he would be out of here. And he would come back to give them hell. A syringe was held under his nose and Tony observed the blonde man's movement with wariness.

"At least you aren't useless after all." Clarke sneered and pushed Tony's head to the side.

Sharp pain rushed through Tony's neck.

"Fuck you, scumbag!"

The syringe was filled with his blood now and Clarke examined the sample with great interest. Tony didn't know why they wanted his blood, or what they planned on doing with it and to be fair, he didn't even care anyone. All he wanted was to get out of here alive. Going back home, get back to... well... A second injection came down on his neck, yanking Tony right from his thoughts.

"You damn..."

He started to curse, but was hushed by a gun pointing at his head. This freaking woman.

"You shouldn't shoot your mouth off like that, Mr. Stark. You're on enemy's territory here."

Kara grinned, which made Tony growl in frustration. He really didn't know why this had to happen now. His whole life turned upside down at the moment. First Pepper found out about him and Loki, then his company's stocks falling and don't forget the fact that Hammer, well the drone of him, was released from prison. Everything went so great.

"What? You want to kill me now? Don't you think it's kinda conspicuous when I don't come down anymore? I think that's not such a bright idea. And to be frank..."

Even in this situation Tony wasn't able to get the smugness out of his voice. But it failed to have the desired effect, because instead of being intimidated, the blonde man just laughed.

"Oh? You really think someone would miss you?"

The surprised look on Clarke's face left Tony completely baffled. There was really nothing he could answer to that. Tony knew that there weren't many people that would notice if he hadn't come home, or disappeared all together. He wasn't even sure if the Nordic god, currently occupying his tower, would miss him. Tony was kicked in the side hard. Clarke suddenly losing his temper.

"You really think someone would give a shit?!"

Another kick followed. Tony squirmed in pain, trying to shield his stomach with his arms. At least those were working again. For a few minutes he just lay there, taking the beating, until Clarke apparently had enough of kicking him like a trash bag. The second syringe was handed over to Kara, who put the thing back into the suitcase. When Tony looked up, the blue eyes were still staring down at him, filled with disgust.

"No, Tony. I won't kill you now. We still need your pathetic ass."

There it was. We. They. Who? Tony really had enough of this secret-mongering, the evil villain plotting was going on his nerves.

"We? What, are you working with Hammer now? That's a new low, even for you."

"Hammer?" The blonde snorted with laughter. "You serious?"

He rolled his eyes and turned to Kara, who whispered into his ear, still loud enough for Tony to hear, thus completely missing the point of whispering.

"What should we do with him now."

Her face lit up with anticipation, but quickly turned into a grimace when Clarke yanked the suitcase from her hands and threw her a glance.

"Nothing." The female groaned at the words. "We just leave him here. Will take at least a few hours until someone notices."

Kara chuckled and followed the man to the door.

"Don't think you will get off lightly, Tony. We will take everything from you."

Clarke threw over the shoulder before he stepped out of the room. The words struck him to the core. Shit. He had heard this before. From Hammer. But judged by the reaction of Clarke, Hammer was nothing but a puppet in his game. And that wasn't good. He could have dealt with Hammer in a second, but with the blonde being so full of himself, there clearly had to be someone able to pose a threat, being capable of causing severe harm. And with Clarke, they had some good engineer. Damn. If only he knew who was involved in all this.

About an hour and several tries of getting his limps to work later, Tony was finally able to get up from the ground and leaned against the bed. His whole body was sore and hurt. He eyed the red stains on the floor and wondered just how much blood he had lost. There was a gaping hole in his hand and he winced when he clenched it into a fist. He needed to let Bruce check if there was any permanent damage. With effort, Tony managed to heave himself up, holding onto the wall for support and limped to the door, barely being able to press the handle down, before collapsing to the ground again.

He felt dizzy and nauseous. His stomach did somersaults and he really wasn't sure whether everything was fine with it. It felt like his insides wanted to come out. Might as well be the case. A wave of pain rushed through him and he pressed his hands to his stomach. Panting, he sat on his knees, holding himself, trying to work through the pain. No one were there. The corridor was completely empty and Tony had the feeling that it would stay like this until the gala was over. Not good for him. He seriously started to worry at this point.

Tony was about to slip into unconsciousness when a hand found his shoulder and yanked him from his half-sleep. He raised his head to find Happy kneeling next to him. Damn was he glad to see him. His arm was grabbed and he got lifted to his feet.

"What happened?" The man asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"That fucking woman..." Tony barely managed to bring out.

Hogan got the man all the way down to the lobby, where everyone's eyes were on them immediately. They were shocked by the sight of Tony Stark limping, wounded and bleeding. Pepper was at his side almost instantly, helping Hogan support him.

"What the hell did happen up there Tony?!" She noticed the cuts and bruises, shaking her head in disbelieve. "You need to go to the hospital, right now!"

"No Pep."

His head dropped to his chest, hair stuck to his forehead.

"Are you insane? Look at you! You're bleeding and hurting all over!"

It was nice that she cared so much, but he needed to be somewhere else. He lifted his gaze to look into her eyes.

"Pepper, I need to go to Shield."

The female only stared at him, staying silent a few seconds before she wanted to argue again. Tony's stabbed hand came up to claw at her clothes. She needed to get that he did this for her. He wouldn't risk her safety any longer. If Clarke went through with his plan, she would be the first on his list.

"Pep. Listen. It's not important how I feel, or what happens to me. I need to see Shield. Now."

At this Pepper released his arm and watched how both men went out through the door.

* * *

Hogan was still at his side when they walked down the corridor to Shield's conference room and marveled at all the equipment and a certain woman bolting to their side. Natasha looked him over with a grimace.

"What the fuck happened?"

Hogan still couldn't accept the fact that she was a spy and better in kicking someone's ass than him.

"What's with that question. As if there isn't any other thing to ask. How about... Hey Tony, how's it going?"

Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Then I could answer: Hey, yeah, totally fine, thanks."

They entered the room, the Captain and the Hawk standing next to Director Fury, turning their heads to look at the source of the murmuring.

"We have a problem." Tony grumbled.

He slumped down on one of the chairs and supported his head with his hand. A hand grabbed his wrist and yanked it away. Bruce examined the wound and pressed his finger on it, much to Tony's discontent.

"Could you cut that out?" He hissed and Bruce backed off, just to come back with a bag of meds.

Fury finally decided to give Tony his attention.

"So, Stark? Do you want to tell us what happened, why you are here in the middle of the night?"

Since when was eleven pm the middle of the night.

"Yeah, I also could imagine better things to spend my evening with than spending it with you."

Both glared at each other, before Tony rolled his eyes.

"Anyway. It's not just Hammer we're after."

Fury narrowed his eyes and gestured for him to continue.

"A woman." Tony spat. "Named Kara Williams."

Natasha immediately got on the computer and typed in the name.

"At least that's what she told me."

A glass of water and some meds were shoved in his view and Tony gladly swallowed them. Bruce's painkillers always did the job.

"So a woman." Fury repeated and looked on the screen, where Natasha already searched the databank.

"A fucking cyborg." The engineer added.

"What?"

Tony stared blankly at Steve, who apparently didn't know what that meant.

"A cyborg." He pressed out insistently.

Bruce started to disinfect the wounds on Tony's arm.

"How is that possible?" He asked casually, not even looking up from his task.

"How the fuck should I know. But the knives coming out of her arms were pretty convincing."

He felt as if everyone suddenly inspected his arms. The engineer growled and contorted his face with pain. He was pissed and cursed under his breath.

"Could you stop that?!"

Fortunately for Tony, Bruce never took any of his rantings personally. In fact, that guy was the only one who understood his sense of humor and could patch him up again.

"She wasn't alone. Merely a mercenary." Fury raised an eyebrow at him. "Clarke was with her."

Suddenly Barton pricked up his ears.

"Stuart Clarke?"

"Yes."

"The weapon designer?"

Tony's patience ran out fast.

"Do I speak mandarin?"

The director turned to Hill, whispering something into her ear. Everybody was talking now, until Tony opened his mouth once more.

"He said the same as Hammer."

"What?"

The man now actually showed some emotion and Tony had called it surprise, if he hadn't known him better. Fury faced Tony again and the one good eye kept focusing him.

"Spill."

"I'll bet my dick that they work together, in some way at least."

"So, what did they do?"

Instead of Tony, Bruce started to state the obvious.

"Except for the beating..." The man touched Tony's bruised rips, making him jump. "...and the cuttings. The hole in his hand and the possible internal bruising, there are also puncture-wounds on his neck."

Tony slapped Bruce's hand away and sneered.

"Got my blood. And before you ask. I don't know why and I don't care. That's not why I'm here."

"So there is actually a scenario when Tony Stark doesn't want to talk about himself." Steve interjected, again just saying this to wind him up. Something he really didn't need right now.

"Shut up, Capsicle. Don't open your mouth if you don't have anything to contribute to the situation."

Tony tried to stand up, staggered and was held by Hogan. For the surprise of anyone in the room, Tony was more than serious now.

"You need to keep Pepper safe. I know they want her. The press does not know we're not dating anymore. So they will be after her and I can't risk that."

There was no reaction on Fury's face whatsoever, he simply nodded. Tony sunk back in his chair and sighed.

"Thanks."

"So." The captain began and Tony looked up again to see him frowning.

"Hammer's accomplices."

"Yes..."

The man made him lose the last string of patience.

"Not good."

"Yeah, well. Look at my face, do I look as if I had fun?"

Tony retorted, voice dripping of sarcasm, a thing Steve might never understand. And his face clearly displayed his interior struggle. The man was just not used to someone talking back to him. He noticed Barton grinning like a kid.

"What."

"Nothing. Just... Weren't you the one who walked around and told everyone he could wear anything. Yeah. Suits you."

Tony faked a grin and Natasha elbowed her partner in the rips. Serves him right.

"Yeah, I'm so fabulous, I should walk in a fashion show. Could we get back to the topic now."

Agent Hill turned to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"We will take all necessary actions."

This might have been the first nice gesture towards him. Still, Tony tried to evade the touch and stood, only to stare into the directors face.

"What did Thor want from you by the way?"

Tony just stood there with his mouth open, not really comprehending what the man asked of him.

"What?"

That must have been the word of the evening.

"He told us he wanted to visit you."

It was stated as if it didn't matter.

"No."Tony shook his head.

Fury couldn't be serious now, could he. The smile that crept on his lips were more than creepy and it occurred to him that he might not be lying.

"Really? Fuck." Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

This was not good. Leaving Thor alone with Loki was bound to end in disaster. He could almost see the whole floor getting destroyed by them. His only hope was that his bedroom was still in one piece. All he wanted was to sleep and Malibu was too far away to just hop over. If Loki had vandalized his room he would need to punish him. Tony caught himself grinning like an idiot at the thought and cleared his throat.

"Let's go Happy."

He was about to go when Fury called out to him once more.

"Stark. Where are you..."

Tony didn't even turn to look at him anymore.

"You send the god of thunder to his insane, spiteful brother without someone watching over those kids. I slowly start doubting your sanity. My tower is in danger, I am out of here. I hope you keep your word, Hill."

He waved and left, followed by Hogan and Natasha, who quickly caught up with them. Hogan's face displayed his tenseness like an open book. He always was so stressed when she was around. Not that Tony couldn't understand that. She was damn creepy when she got angry.

"Don't piss her off, else you'll end up looking like me." He teased, making Hogan gulp.

Natasha wasn't laughing, but was serious as always.

"How is your girlfriend?"

The question made him choke on his own spit. Hogan only laughed.

"Girlfriend?" The taller man looked to Tony, before he turned to Natasha. "Which girlfriend?"

All three of them stopped walking and Tony wasn't able to say anything. The death-glance Natasha gave him, silenced him completely. He couldn't even prevent Hogan from babbling.

"Tony does nothing but stay in the tower with this psycho."

Well, damn him. Pepper must have told him. But judged by his amusement, she didn't tell him the most important part. Still, Natasha's frown was never a good sign. The woman was just too good putting two and two together.

"Is that so?"

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Tony's hands shot up in defense.

"Not what you are thinking!"

Actually, it was exactly what she thought. Suddenly she was in his face, whispering.

"You lie to me? I don't think so."

With this she turned on her heels and walked away and Tony couldn't do anything else but shake his head. This couldn't be happening. Now that woman would never get off his ass. He hated it when she stuck her nose into everything.

"Thanks." Tony grunted. "Now I have to deal with her curiosity..."

Hogan only shrugged and followed the man with a smile on his face.

* * *

The moment Tony got into the elevator, he could already hear the hue and cry from the top floor. His head still hurt and this screaming wouldn't do him any good. Tony held his head when the doors opened and yes, there they were, fighting. Just as always. He didn't cared. All he wanted was silence, to have his peace. Not to deal with this now. And he was suddenly reminded on why he had only one-night stands. They were gone in the morning.

Neither of the gods noticed him going to the bar and getting himself a glass of scotch. Only when he directly crossed their line of sight, the wrangle stopped and it was silent all of a sudden. Tony just waved and kept walking, but Thor reached out for him.

"Man of Iron."

He sounded almost surprised to see him here. Tony turned around, his gaze immediately focused on Loki. Of course the god saw his wounds and Tony imagined how aggravated he was about it. His expression didn't change one bit, but his eyes betrayed him. In these last months, Tony became quite good in reading him. And now Loki was fuming inside. He growled at Thor when he followed Tony into his bedroom, something Tony found extremely funny. He loved seeing Loki lose his temper and Thor coming too close to him, seemed to do the trick. Loki stayed in the living room, but Tony was still able to see him.

"So, big guy, what do you want?"

His voice was hoarse and sounded tired, and for some reason Thor seemed to pick up on it. His hand found Tony's shoulder and those big, blue puppy eyes stared down at him. But Tony's eyes wouldn't leave the raven-haired god and he smiled at the irritated look on his face. He hated this situation and Tony began to love it more by the second.

"What did happen to you, my friend? All these wounds."

Thor's hand slid over his arm down to his hand, raising it to have a better look. Tony didn't quite know how to react. And Loki looked as if he had been shot. He knew that the blonde was only concerned about him, yet personal space was a thing he cared about, so he took a step back and waved off.

"Some accident, nothing important." Tony lied. "So. Why are you here again? And make it quick. I might pass out if you take too long."

Thor nodded.

"I was here to tell my brother..."

A groan from behind interrupted the god at which he only sighed.

"That our father wants to see him." This was strange.

"Why?" Tony just asked, nipping on his drink.

"That I don't know."

By this time Loki leaned on the door frame and huffed.

"I don't care for your father's intentions. First he exiled me and then he wants me to come back. Never. He won't tell you why. Fine. But don't expect me to bolt for him, you imbecile."

Thor had turned to his brother and caught him by the collar of his shirt.

"Why do you always act so childishly, brother? First you are devastated that father banished you to Midgard and now you don't want to come back. You are so indecisive."

The two were glaring at each other again and Tony decided it was enough with the standing. He stumbled to his bed and let himself fall onto his face.

"And what does this have to do with me?" He asked, voice muffled by a pillow.

"I thought you might be able to convince him to come with me, so you wouldn't have to bear with him any longer."

Any normal person would have agreed with him, but Tony didn't. He wanted the god to stay. Permanently. But there was no way to actually tell Thor.

"That's not my decision. I'm no slave driver. Your business. I don't care."

Lie. Still, Thor didn't seem to get the hint.

"Friend, I need your help. What if father wants to grant Loki his powers back."

Tony snorted into the pillow.

"Yeah, he did so much good here... Not really." The god didn't answer to this. "Settle it amongst yourself. And get the fuck out of my bedroom. Feeling as if I am back in high school."

Loki was still pissed when Thor came back to the door, facing his little brother.

"Please brother, rethink this."

Loki groaned in exaggeration and turned.

"I am not your brother and I don't care the slightest."

"I think it's about byrđ dag."

For a single moment Loki stilled his movement, apparently thinking about what the blonde had said. But the moment quickly passed and Loki was back to his usual self.

"Why do you even care. Make yourself scarce, oaf!"

Obviously the point was finally reached when Thor had had enough. He grabbed the now mortal god by his arm and made him look at him.

"Now listen to me. I am tired of you behaving like this." His features turned soft in an instant. "You will always be my brother, the one I grew up with..."

All gentleness didn't help, Loki just snarled back at him, flashing his teeth.

"Just how many times do I have to explain..."

The ranting would have gone the whole night, when Tony hadn't shouted for them to shut the fuck up. Thor looked into the direction where the engineer lay and back to Loki, who didn't look one bit interested in what he had to say.

"This would be the first time we don't spend this together."

Tony could hear the hurt in the others voice, but it didn't seem to impress Loki.

"I won't go back to Asgard." He sneered and got an immediate reply.

"Then I'm staying here."

This was actually something that made Tony and Loki look at him in bewilderment. Neither of them wanted that to happen. And since Loki didn't say a word, Tony had to yell again.

"No way. Most definitely not. Go home, or go to Jane or whatever." He groaned and buried himself in the pillows again.

The thunder-god looked at his brother's unamused eyes.

"But..."

"Go, Thor." Loki stated indifferently and followed the dejected god into the living room.

Before Thor entered the elevator, he patted his brother on the shoulder.

"I will come back in a few days. Until then, farewell brother."

The silence that followed was getting awkward fast and Loki averted his gaze, still hard and patronizing. The doors closed between them and for a few minutes Tony didn't hear anything. Maybe now he could find a bit of rest. The day had been long enough. He glanced to the clock. Barely midnight. Normally this was his most productive hour of the day. And just as he was about to drift off, Tony heard footsteps heading his direction.

One part of him wanted to see the god, lose himself in his arms, but another just wanted to sleep, to be left alone. And knowing Loki, he wouldn't spare him from his lectures about behaving. Before a word could leave the god's mouth, Tony turned to look at him.

"Do I look like I want to hear any of your lectures?"

The god only tsked and stopped a few feet away from the bed.

"As if I'd care what you want." A typical answer. "Why exactly is Thor permitted to come and go while you're gone. That is something which interests me."

"I bet it does." Tony groaned and turned over to lie on his side, facing the wall.

He didn't want to deal with Loki being jealous now. Even if the thought of getting him even angrier was pretty tempting. So Tony sighed.

"It's the Avengers Tower. Thor is a member of the Avengers. And you are not."

He shot a grin over his shoulder and pulled the blanket up to his chin. With almost inhuman speed Loki was on him, sitting on his lap. The emerald-green eyes stared down on Tony and the sudden silence and seriousness in Loki's features scared him just a tiny little bit. He could tell that he wasn't amused at all when he eyed him up. A finger trailed over the wounds on his neck, making the man hiss. Loki repeated the action a few times, until Tony tried to get away from the teasing.

"Stop that." He growled, but Loki just laughed.

"What's with you? You look terrible."

The grin on the god's face showed amusement rather than any pity. And it was kind of obvious that he would let him suffer for letting Thor in. Even when he hadn't had anything to do with it. Tony didn't say anything. Might be the best option. When there was no answer, Loki grabbed Tony's hand and pressed a thumb against the bandaged hand. The man gave a howl of pain.

"Why is it you don't want to tell me, Anthony?"

Loki bowed down and captured Tony's lips with his own. The whole day was forgotten when soft lips moved against his, tongue lashing out to taste him. Tony loved the feeling of kissing him, even when he bit his lips, like he did right now.

"So? Who did this?" The sentence was pressed through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, well. It started with Pepper dragging me to some charity event. I hate those."

The god didn't move an inch, still sitting on his lap, looking skeptically at him.

"Go on."

Tony sighed and lay his head back, staring to the ceiling.

"I was bored and got myself a drink..."

An annoyed groan left the god, at which Tony rolled the eyes. He was an adult, he was allowed to drink alcohol.

"There was this girl and it started with us talking. Everything innocuous enough, I promise."

Tony raised his gaze to look into an enraged face. The grip on his arm tightened noticeable and Tony touched Loki's hand for him to let go.

"Go on."

Came the command. He knew he would regret telling him the next part.

"We went to her room and it was an ambush. I got beaten and cut and there were cyborgs and whatnot... And I... I hadn't come there to fuck, just to make this clear, it was all business." He spluttered, trying to explain himself.

But apparently Loki didn't hear the last part or chose to ignore it and grabbed him by the collar.

"What?!"

Loki's face was so close to his that he could smell his scent.

"Didn't I make myself clear, mortal?!"

The outburst sent shivers down his spine. Yes, angry, very much so. Not that he hadn't expected him to, but this was even worse than the corridor accident. Loki bared his teeth in a snarl.

"You won't date anyone. You won't look at anyone, but me. I let you touch me and you even dare to think about others?! You pathetic, dirty bastard!"

The grip started to hurt and Tony tried to shove the god away.

"Really, calm down. Nothing happened." He said, voice calm.

Loki looked disgusted with him, insulted even. There was really nothing he could do to prevent him from being pissed, so he decided to take another route. Tony knew the god was jealous and offended that he would fuck someone but him. And maybe he could use this to his benefit.

"So jealous."

The hands left his shirt and Loki huffed at the man.

"Stark."

"Are you afraid you don't satisfy me? That's so cute."

Tony soon stopped laughing when he was pulled towards Loki and bitten in his neck.

"Fuck!"

He hissed and a hand shot instantly up to press at the wound. Green eyes locked with his and Tony could only watch him licking the blood of his lips.

"Are you crazy? I did lose enough blood, you fucking dipshit! What was that for?!"

"Mark my territory. And it serves you right."

Loki released the man and got up, but never taking his eyes of him.

"This woman."

The engineer cursed under his breath and looked up.

"I will kill her." That actually surprised him. "No one touches my property."

Property. There it was again.

"Whoa, chill. I am not..."

"Shut it."

So much for talking reason with an insane god. Tony left the bite mark alone and sat up.

"How would you even do that. Without your mojo and all.."

A dagger appeared at his throat, the metal gently caressing the sensitive skin.

"As you can see, I don't need my powers to inflict pain."

"Where the fuck did you hide that!"

Loki just laughed at him.

"I always had it with me."

Okay, now he was scared. He really could have stabbed him in his sleep. The dagger left his throat and was discarded on the bed when Loki sat down next to him.

"Damn, Rudolph. You can't..."

"I can. You won't touch anyone besides me." He growled.

And Tony couldn't complain. Lips found his ear and Tony shivered when Loki's tongue darted out to play with his earlobe, before trailing down to lick over the mark he had left. It had been days since they had fucked and Tony couldn't help but get turned on by this simple gesture. Hands were on his hips now and Tony was barely able to focus on his thoughts. The god tried to bribe him with sex. Clever bastard.

"So, what did Thor mean with that Byrd-thing?"

Loki suddenly stopped in his tracks and sighed.

"Don't wrack your brain. It's just a stupid tradition. And Thor is such a sentimental fool."

"Oh, come on. Give it a break. He's a good guy... Naive, yeah, but man, he misses you." The engineer stated, but never got a reply.

"So, that byrd..."

"Byrđ dag." Loki corrected and started to massage Tony's neck.

"That's what I said. What's that?"

Tony melted in the god's arms. His muscles really needed the relaxation and Loki's hands did magic to his tight back.

"What does it sound like, Anthony?"

Fingers worked a knot in his shoulders and Tony let his head drop and enjoyed he touch.

"Don't let me say birds." He brought out before those fingers made him purr.

An amused chuckle left the god.

"That's exactly what it stands for."

"Fuck you. I will just look it up." Tony growled.

"Then I don't have to explain it to you." Loki snapped back at him.

For a few minutes both were silent, Loki's hands still touching Tony's back, before they moved over his arms.

"All these wounds. She will bleed for this." The god said indifferently.

"She will. Believe me. Well... I don't know if she actually bleeds...But I will take care of it. You..." He looked over his shoulder. "Stay out of it."

"How can I when you come back like this. It's not tolerable."

Tony turned around to face the aggravated god.

"I ain't a kid. I can handle my own business."

Loki wasn't convinced. He could tell that by his expression. But in the end he conceded or was just too tired to talk back. It didn't take long for Tony to drift off with Loki massaging his back. Loki was a sorcerer, a great speaker. But the talent Tony valued the most was definitely him loosing every knot in his back. And despite his body hurting so much, he was finally able to get to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22: Byrd-Dag

_A/N: First of all. Thank you so much for your support. It really means a lot for me. You guys give me strength to keep writing Thanks.  
Second: It's the last week of university for me. We have to present our semester project next week, so I'm sorry that the new chapter took me so long to write. On the 15th. I'll start my internship. WIll work for the whole summer, but I guess i will still have more time than now haha.  
And something great, I got a beta-reader =D So as soon as she is up to date, and ready/is done with finals, she will beta my chapters =D yeah.__  
So in this chapter_ _you'll get to know what Thor meant in the last chapter. And some alone-time. yay. Hope you'll like it._

* * *

**Chapter 21: Byrd-Dag**

When Tony woke up the next day, he was alone in his bed. Again. It became a habit for the god to leave before Tony even woke up. Drugged with sleep and only in his boxers, Tony stumped into the living room, hopeful to find the god somewhere around his favorite reading spot. And indeed, there he was, sitting on the counter with a mug of coffee.

For some strange reason, Loki was completely dressed. Tony's eyes wandered over the man, over the tight jeans and the black shirt and stopped on his green eyes, which looked into the distance. With a few quick steps Tony closed the distance between them and looked over his shoulder.

"Morning, sunshine." He cooed and got only a distant glance in return.

"Cut that off Stark." Loki snarled, voice layered with a warning tone.

Tony raised an eyebrow and wondered what had gotten into him for being so edgy.

"Uh, grumpy." He joked and pushed the long, black hair aside to kiss the man's neck.

Loki stiffened instantly and tried to get away from the soft touch of lips against his skin. A reaction the engineer hadn't expected from him. Still, he didn't really care. Loki often had these mood swings and Tony had learned to just ignore them as they came. So he pressed himself against the warm body, feeling the silky fabric of his shirt, breathing against the crook of his neck.

"I mean it, Stark..."

The god's voice got dangerously low at this point, clearly threatening the man to not continue with his doings. But as this was Tony he talked to, it was also clear that he wouldn't listen to anything the god said. Hands shifted to the his hips and under his shirt, exploring the smooth skin there. Tony would never get enough of this beautiful body. When fingers teased a nipple, Loki grumbled and quickly glanced to the corridor, before instinctively leaning into the caress. Loki felt the obvious erection press into his lower back and tried to hold back a moan, but weren't really successful in doing so. The longer he stayed with the mortal, the more intense his body reacted to the man's touch. His skin tingled whenever those fingers brushed over it and normally he would have liked the attention, but now was not the time. Loki tried to clear his head.

"Anthony..." He stuttered. "Don't. I am..."

The god couldn't complete his sentence. A tongue over his neck, and the breathing against his ear made his voice die in his throat. Tony hummed against the sensitive spot right underneath the collar of his shirt and let his hand slide down to cup the man's crotch. Before Loki could leash out at him, Tony spotted Pepper coming from the guest-toilet and immediately got his hands off the god. The woman tried to ignore the sight and lowered her head while she stepped towards both of them. The look she gave Tony was both embarrassed and reproachful when she noticed him being half-naked, holding on to the black-haired man.

"Morning, Pep."

A fake grin plastered his lips and Pepper just sighed at the attempt to cover up the obvious situation. Pepper was still shaking her head when she got to her bag, the one that was so clearly visible on the couch. Tony cursed silently and grimaced. How could he have overseen that. When Pepper turned her back on them, Tony whispered into Loki's ear.

"You didn't think it might be important to tell me that she is here? Just some little warning would have been appreciated." The engineer spoke through gritted teeth.

"I tried, but you wouldn't listen." Loki sneered. "That's what you get for only thinking of getting me into your bed."

Tony grinned and rolled his eyes.

"You get up without waking me and denying me my morning sex. You should have seen that coming, Trickster."

Tony bent over to lick over Loki's ear.

"Just can't get enough of you. And it's been too long since..."

Loki huffed at this.

"My, are you desperate. It's been just a few days, mortal. A pause which you caused with your stupid actions of getting yourself injured." He shook his head. "A few days... Try years."

"Years?" Tony stared at him wide-eyed with an expression of pure lack of understanding. "How did you survive that."

Loki couldn't do anything but snicker at the reaction.

"If I didn't know you two, I would call this cute... But no."

The female's voice brought their attention back to her and Tony just looked at her impassively.

"Yeah... Sure. So, what do you want here, Pep?" He muttered and got the same look back from her.

"I escaped." She simply stated.

"What? From where? Did something happen?!"

Thoughts of Clarke spread through his head and he reached out for her arm, but Pepper took a step back before he could to touch her.

"Damn. I knew Shield would be too incompetent to protect you." Tony ground his teeth.

"Well, not quite."

Both men looked up at this.

"Shield was on my door frame and wanted to take me somewhere. I don't even know whereto. But with Happy's help I was able to get to the tower."

A heavy sigh left the engineer.

"Gosh you scared the shit out of me." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Thought something had happen to you."

Pepper furrowed her brows and looked at him in wariness.

"No? What should have happen to me, Tony?"

"Clarke." Before Pepper could argue, he continued. "He wants to get to me over you. They think we're still together, so I asked Shield to take care of you." He explained, trying to sooth her boiling anger.

"Did he do that to you?" She gestured to the still very visible bruises on his skin.

"Yep. That was him. Resentful bastard."

Pepper looked at him as if her world was going to collapse.

"I had never thought he..."

"Me neither."

His hand found her cheek and Tony smiled softly. He had never wanted her to get involved in any of his feuds and the look on her face made it clear that it had been the right choice to go to Shield with that matter. Pepper timidly touched the hand which lingered on her cheek and Tony shot one quick glance over to Loki, who just looked expressionlessly back at him. If he didn't know it better, he would guess the god didn't even like this simple touch. Might as well be the case. Loki told him explicitly what he'd do to him if he ever touched anyone else again. But apparently he had enough respect for the relationship between him and Pepper, that he didn't want to rip off her head. Or he simply didn't want to stand up. The latter was the more realistic scenery. Tony really didn't want to think about this now, so he turned to Pepper again and looked in those bright, blue eyes.

"Go with Shield. That's why I was there after all. To let them keep you save."

No words left Pepper. She just seemed to brood over this for some minutes, until her voice sounded through the room again.

"No."

Tony thought he didn't hear her right.

"What?"

"I said no." Was the stern response.

She pressed her finger on his chest and shoving him a few steps back.

"Who is gonna keep the company on track, when I'm not there? I can't just abandon my duties."

Tony sighed. The woman was just too stubborn for her own good. She always did what was best for everyone but herself. It had always been like that.

"Please, Pepper. Just this once, do as I tell you. It's important that you..."

With a resolute tone in her voice she interrupted.

"No, Tony. I won't stand on the sidelines to watch you risk your life."

A groan left the god behind them and Tony shrugged it off as if he hadn't heard it, but Pepper picked up on it. She gestured towards Loki.

"Maybe you should worry more about him?"

"Why? Nobody knows that we're... Well."

Tony narrowed his eyes, before turning abruptly to him. Loki rolled his eyes and sipped on his coffee again. Whenever Tony needed his big mouth, Loki decided to keep it shut. Maybe just to piss him off more.

"Yes. At least not now. But if that ever changes, you don't only need to keep yourself save, but also him."

Fortunately for Tony, the god seemingly had enough of her addressing him as some kind of burden.

"I can watch out for myself, woman. I don't need anyone caring for me as if I were a child. Be gone." Loki snarled, but Pepper just looked as if she didn't care for his outburst.

With an indifferent face she looked at him.

"Can you really defend yourself?"

Loki cocked his head to the side, obviously interested in what the female had to say and grinned at her. The expression he wore scared Tony of what was about to happen. He had seen it before, when Loki had tried to rip Thor's throat out. So Tony decided to intervene before anything could go possible wrong.

"He can." The woman's eyes turned wide in expectation. "He smuggled his dagger into the tower."

Loki snorted at the tense tone in Tony's voice, whereas Pepper still didn't look impressed at all. She grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder.

"I expect you to make them back off."

Tony huffed.

"Can't do that Pep. At least let them come along if you insist on not staying with them."

Pepper looked into the pleading brown eyes that stared at her and sighed. The puppy eyes always got her to give in.

"Fine." She sighed. "But be careful yourself."

The defeated look on her face vanished quickly into something more smug.

"I don't want to look for another job."

She waved at the now laughing engineer and turned to leave.

"Please get in touch with me once in a while, Tony." Was the last thing he heard before the elevator's doors closed.

"Well damn."

Tony ran a hand over his face and stretched a bit. It was still way too early in the morning for such a conversation.

"She seems to get comfortable with you being around..."

Tony mentioned casually and wanted to see Loki's reaction, but the god was already walking towards his room, leaving him standing in the living room. He rushed after the man and tugged at his shirt.

"Why are you running all of a sudden?"

With a disinterested look, the god freed himself from the grip.

"I had enough conversation for today, Stark."

Of course the engineer picked up on the innuendo.

"I don't need you to talk."

Arms folded around Loki's waist and kept him from walking any further. Tony's chin rested on the god's shoulder when his hands started roaming over his body again.

"Just need your beautiful body for the next few hours." He said in a sing-song voice, but much for his displeasure, the god ignored his advances completely and pushed him off of him.

"Loki... Please." He whined and tried to get through to him.

Apparently he sounded too desperate, because Loki just grinned and slammed the door in his face. Even if the god wanted the same thing, he obviously drew more pleasure from leaving Tony high and dry. Damn that god of mischief.

* * *

The fact that Loki didn't show up for the whole next day didn't exactly worry him. Really, he was not worried at all. It had happen more than once that Loki had isolated himself. Not coming out of his room for days. And Tony did what he could do best in these cases. Work off his sexual frustration. He had spent hours in his workshop, building the newest addition to his arsenal of suits. Still, the thought about Thor's visit a few days ago was hammered into his brain. He just couldn't stop thinking about what the blonde had wanted. And he was almost certain that the thunderer was the reason for Loki's _I-don't-want-to-deal-with-you_ attitude. Thor always managed to get his mood into an abyss.

Of course Tony had tried to find a translation for that shitty Asgardian word, but even google didn't spit out anything useful. And when he had asked the god about it, he hadn't even gotten a response. Not one word. So Tony had resigned in trying to get anything out of him. Or get him out of his room, that is. He would leave his room, at the latest when he got hungry again. And that wouldn't take long. Gods and their appetite. The sound of Jarvis English accent yanked him from his thoughts.

"Sir, I want to inform you that you have guests."

Tony removed his wielding goggles, turned the machine off and looked up to one of the speakers. Who the fuck would come up here without checking in first.

"Go on." He muttered and the AI quickly responded to the command.

"It appears that the Avengers, with the exception of Captain Rogers, met up in your living room, Sir."

Tony groaned in annoyance. Why did they always have to interrupt him when he worked. What did they want from him this time? They were really clingy as of late. He grabbed a towel and went upstairs, strolling into the living room where the mob already waited.

"Great..." Tony mumbled under his breath and wiped his face clean from the grease and sweat. "What do you want."

It was more stated than asked and Tony's first glance fell immediately on Bruce, who looked more than a bit distressed by the lingering gaze. The man adjusted his glasses and averted his eyes.

"Well..."

He started, but was cut off by Barton, who had the strangest grin on his face. Tony was unsure what to think of it. Barton with a grin normally meant that something was not right.

"What? You don't know it? As his boyfriend? Shame, really."

For a split second Tony's heart stopped. They couldn't possibly know anything. Could they? Judged by that grin, they didn't. Barton would not smile, but beat the hell out of him when he would know. Tony growled.

"Shut up."

"What?" Barton turned to look at Thor and back to Tony, smile still on his lips. "What? So grumpy on his boyfriend's birthday!" He laughed and Tony wanted to snarl at him, but the sound never left his throat.

"What the fuck?" He faced Thor, who wore a small smile on his face. "That's what this is all about?"

Tony ran a hand through his hair and looked to the ceiling. It actually made sense now. Thor only nodded.

"Oh, come on."

The engineer groaned when Barton shoved a box into his hands. He opened it and stared at him. Completely irritated by the man's behavior.

"Cake..." Tony nodded to himself. "Seriously?"

Before he could do anything, the blonde god strode pass him.

"What exactly are you doing?"

Tony handed the box to Bruce and looked after the man.

"Is my brother in his room?"

The engineer rolled his eyes at the question. "I don't see him here, so..."

A hand touched his arm and he almost jumped out of his skin. It was the woman Thor dated. Jane Foster. He had heard of her work on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge and normally he would have loved to discuss the topic with her, who wouldn't want to warp to other realms, but now really wasn't the time for small talk.

"Mr. Stark, it's an honor to finally meet you." She offered a hand for him to shake and then turned her attention to the noise coming from the corridor.

"Same here." Tony replied. "But could have imagined a better moment." He dead-panned and to his surprise, the woman only nodded.

"Yeah. I don't want to be here either. Didn't actually plan on spending time with Loki."

The man tried to hide his smile. "I imagine."

Someone cleared their throat right next to them and Tony turned to see Natasha staring at him. How he hated that look.

"Tasha, hey. Are you still mad at me? I know. No lying or hiding things, but... Actually it was your interpretation that I have a girlfriend. So this was not my fault at all and..."

She just shoved him to the side and went to look what her partner and the blonde god were up to.

"Oh, was nice talking to you, too."

Natasha probably was only here to assure that Barton didn't do anything stupid. At least that's what she did all the time. Preventing anybody from hurting themselves. Or she was just interested in seeing Loki getting all wound up. Because that was about to happen. No doubt.

"Thor told us and..." Bruce said and put his hands in the pockets of his pants. "We weren't able to stop Barton from coming here."

That was actually something that Tony believed on the spot. When there was someone who wanted to see the god humiliated, it was him.

"And Natasha is here to give you a good thrashing."

"Sure. What else." Tony faked a smile. "And you?"

"I wanted to check on your wounds and because you wouldn't ever come to me in that matter, I had to come here."

"Sure." Tony said again, before hearing the thunderer banging against the door to Loki's room.

That wasn't a good sign. He clenched his fist and walked over to the men.

"Could you please not smash my stuff? You won't ever get him out of his room like this, anyway. You should know that." He growled at the blonde god.

Tony could already imagine what it would be like after they would leave. Loki would take it out on him. Nice prognosis. Barton had still that stupid grin on his face when he shouted.

"Come on out, reindeer! Celebrate with us, you don't need to be shy." He teased and Tony sighed.

"Worse than a kindergarten."

A few unsuccessful attempts later, Thor had quit trying to force him out. He reached for the door, pressed his palm flat against it and leaned in to whisper against the surface.

"I have something Mother gave me for you."

Actually Tony hadn't expected Loki to come out, but the door opened and a completely pissed off god stood in the door frame. It was understandable. Tony would have been just as peeved and the look Loki shot him told him he would regret letting the Avengers roam free in the tower later.

"Hand it over and leave."

His voice sounded as if he wanted to kill him, but Thor didn't budge an inch. Even Barton was not impressed by the aggressiveness and pulled at Loki's arm, making him hiss.

"There is our birthday boy."

Loki freed his arm and glared at both of them, before settling his eyes on Thor.

"Now!" He growled, but the blonde god only smiled.

"Come sit with us for a bit, brother." He pleaded and Barton took the opportunity to provoke the raven-haired god even more.

"No presents without cake."

Since Barton got to know that Loki didn't have his powers, he really got sassy. Something that was not quite healthy. As soon as Loki would get his powers back, he would have a problem. But apparently that man lived in the present and didn't think of any consequences.

It seemed that the thing Thor got from their mother was of importance to Loki, because just thirty minutes later they sat awkwardly together on the couch. Tony sat in the big armchair, hand over his eyes, trying to ignore the death-glares coming from Loki. At a point he even switched on the TV and started to zap the ads. This whole situation was so random it hurt his brain. Thor and Jane looked as if they didn't care that half of the people in the room wanted to be somewhere else. The blonde ate cake, while his better half watched in amazement just how much he could down. Barton didn't eat the cake, but tried to shove it into Natasha's mouth, who obviously didn't want any of it. Tony cast a quick glance over to Bruce, who looked at nothing but the floor and he could tell just how stressful this had to be for him. He had let him check on his wounds, so he hadn't come all the way for nothing. But of all people it was him who broke the silence.

"So...eh."

Everybody locked their eyes on the man. Even Tony looked up from his boring TV show.

"What do you do the whole day here?"

The question was directed at Loki, who instantly talked back, voice full of arrogance.

"We fuck."

The whole room was dead silent in an instant, until Tony choked on his spit and started coughing, barely managing to keep breathing. It made everyone look at him in shock. He didn't know what to say to this, nor what to do now. This was clearly another one of Loki's blaming tactics. Tony couldn't even think of how he could get out of this, before Thor and Barton burst out in laughter. The archer even held his stomach, so hard was he laughing.

"That would be so typical for Tony." He gasped for air. "Fucking everything that got a heartbeat."

There shouldn't have been a scenario where he would come out of this alive, but actually Barton thinking that this was a joke saved his ass. For the first time in ages he was glad for the man's bad sense of humor. And now it was his chance to cover this up.

"At least someone would fuck me. In contrary to you, my friend, I get laid quite often." Tony sneered and gestured towards Natasha, making Barton instantly going silent.

"No fun at parties." He grumbled and the engineer just rolled his eyes.

After Tony had successfully gotten the blonde man to shut up, he turned his gaze to the gods. Thor tried desperately to get Loki to eat cake, or talk, but the raven-haired one refused to even look at him. Tony felt sorry for both of them actually. Thor tried everything to get his little brother back, but was rejected every damn time. And Loki? Well. It just seemed that this was all just a big mockery. Even when Thor didn't mean for that. Tony ran a hand over his face when Thor opened his mouth to speak.

"I know something funny that might loosen my brother up."

Something funny, considering Loki, didn't seem to be a too good idea. Still, Tony looked up from under his hand and waited for the catastrophe to happen.

"That one time, in Muspelheim, we fought a great battle against the demons of this land."

The groan that left Loki was not a good sign. Apparently no one noticed it, but Tony.

"Frandral and I fended the biggest of them. In the heat of battle we didn't see Loki emerge from behind it, trying to help us out."

The expression on the god's face was priceless, full of joy and anticipation of what to come. The opposite of Loki's, who was growling now.

"Keep your mouth shut, Thor." He warned, but the blonde just continued with his story.

"When we did the final blow to the monster, it did fall over, burying my brother underneath."

Barton was the first to start laughing, followed by Natasha's snorting. Even Tony tried to hide his forming smile and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"And he couldn't free himself on his own, being that the creature was even too heavy for us. When we finally got that monster off of him, with the help of Volstagg , my brother was completely covered in that beast's innards and it's spit!"

A tear ran down Thor's cheek as he talked and even Tony couldn't control his laughter anymore. Sure, he felt kinda bad for it, especially when he looked into Loki's embarrassed face. But a man gotta laugh when something is funny. And the image of Loki being all dirty and covered in goo was something he would die to see. Of course Loki saw Tony laughing and the engineer had the distant feeling that the god would hold this against him for a very long time. Everybody was actually laughing, or giggling now, except for him. And Thor shot him an apologetic look, which did nothing to sooth the man's anger.

"Well..." Loki's voice echoed through the room, silencing the mortals immediately. "Another public denunciation. Thank you Thor."

The words were dripping of venom, and Tony could only watch when the god got up from the couch and turned to leave. But before he got out of reach, Thor grabbed his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, brother." He gestured to Jane. "Please wait."

Not that Loki had a choice or would be able to get out of Thor's grip. Jane handed a small, wooden box to Thor, who looked at it for a second before giving it to Loki. The god examined it sceptically.

"Our mother wanted you to have it."

Thor smiled and Loki just grimaced at the happy face. He hesitated, but finally decided to open it. Everyone in the room stared at the good in expectation, but nothing changed in Loki's features when he looked at the content of the box. The god closed the casket again and carefully sat it down on the coffee table. Without another word he left the room. Thor only sighed and Tony felt the obligation to say something, well, anything to cheer him up.

"Sorry big guy, you know how ungrateful he can be." The engineer shrugged. "But well... that story might not have..." How could he put that lightly. "...got him in the right mood, you know."

Thor sat down next to Jane again and nodded.

"And when we're at it. Inviting enemies to a...party, not that good either."

"I didn't mean to offend my brother. My decision to bring my comrades might have been a bit rash..."

Jane patted his shoulder affectionately.

"Not your fault. You meant well."

"I had the fun of my life." Barton cooed. "Any more stories you could tell us?"

Tony just watched in silence how Barton tried to get information out of the thunder-god. And he couldn't think about anything else but Loki. He knew the god was embarrassed, hurt even. Not that he would ever admitted that of course. Still, all he wanted to do was to go after him and... Natasha seemed to have noticed his tenseness and was now sitting on the armrest of his chair, eying him up. Tony knew it was only a matter of time that she would figure out what was going on between them.

"What is it, Stark? You don't look very comfortable."

For Tony it was as if her voice was implying something she couldn't possibly know. She was calm. And whenever that was the case, she probably tried to interrogate him. And he didn't really know if he could lie to her this time. So maybe he just had to let her make up her own truth. With an indifferent face he looked up to her.

"Actually, yeah I am uncomfortable with you clinging to my ass."

"That is all?" The smug smile on the female's lips made him nervous.

"Should there be anymore than this?" Tony pressed out and the assassin just raised an eyebrow.

"No? You tell me."

"There is nothing to tell."

The corners of her mouth twitched at the now annoyed tone.

"What do you want?"

Natasha shifted on the armrest to get nearer to him, now whispering into the man's ear.

"Nothing. Just wondered what you really do all this time in here."

Damn. Yes, Natasha couldn't just forget about Loki's comment earlier, she had to harp on about it.

"Working?"

Was the first thing that left Tony's mouth, but unfortunately, the patronizing gaze got him to keep talking.

"And..."

"And?"

"Playing with my toys? Come on, what do you want to hear?"

The female ran a hand through her hair and watched the other's while they talked.

"The truth, Stark."

Tony huffed.

"The truth is, you are annoying."

A fake smile crept on Natasha's lips that matched Tony's own.

"I know." She said charmingly and the engineer just groaned.

* * *

It had taken him a few hours to chase every one of them away. Tony really did have trouble getting Natasha off his heels, but now he was finally alone again. He was still sitting in the big leather armchair and massaged his temples. How was he going to face the god now. Loki bore grudges too easily and the following days wouldn't be anything but torturous for his nerves. When he opened his eyes, his gaze automatically fell on the casket, which still lay on the coffee table. Loki hadn't bothered taking it with him, or coming back to get it. Which was strange, because this had been the reason the god had come out of his room in the first place. And now that thing just lay there.

For a few minutes Tony just stared absently at the casket. He shouldn't look inside. It wasn't his, so he really shouldn't. A moment later, he stood. He wouldn't be himself, if he wouldn't pursue his curiosity. The man grabbed the beautiful elaborated box and opened it carefully. Tony sighed heavily and put it back down.

* * *

When it knocked on Loki's door, he didn't really wanted to open. He had noticed that the other's had left, so there was no doubt who was on the other side of the door. And he wasn't keen on seeing the man any time soon. Loki decided to ignore the knocking until it changed into a heavy banging, which wasn't tolerable. So the god got up from his bed and stalked, teeth-gnashingly, to the source of the noise. With a snarl he opened the door.

"What do you want, mortal. Didn't you have enough fun at my expense for today?"

Instead of getting a witty response, Tony just smiled at him. Too gently for his liking. It stole his thunder. Loki just stared at the man, flabbergasted by his serenity. Tony took the god's hand in his own and led him back into the living room. Loki just sighed at the memories of the previous hours and wanted to curse under his breath, but Tony just dragged him to the couch.

"Sit down, grumpy old giant."

The raven-haired god rolled his eyes, but nevertheless did what the man asked of him. He followed Tony's movement with his eyes, until he was out of sight. A hand gently brushed the black hair to the side, exposing the god's neck. Fingertips caressed the sensitive skin, making Loki shiver involuntarily. Tony's tongue trailed over his neck to the spot right under his ear, distracting the god from his hands which fastened something behind his neck. The sudden feeling made Loki gasp. One hand quickly reached up to touch the ornately crafted platinum necklace. Not one word left his throat, hand still lingering on the jewelry, when Tony breathed against his ear.

"It suits you."

This made the god huff. He looked over his shoulder.

"This is the gift my mother..." Loki averted his gaze. "Frigga, gave to me when Fenrir was born. She was the only one who didn't think of him as a monster."

Loki's finger traced the small wolf on the end of the necklace. Tony knew the story of the giant wolf and Ragnarök. Actually he had read many books on that topic since the god had moved in. And he could imagine how hard it had been for him. But he decided to not press the subject any further. For now at least. The engineer sighed and lay his chin on the god's shoulder, arms holding him close.

"So... Birthday, huh?" He said barely audible.

"Hmm." Loki only answered.

"Wasn't so great, was it?"

The god growled at the man and shifted to look him in the eyes.

"Yes, you surely enjoyed my humiliation, Stark."

"Oh, don't be like that." Tony leaned in to kiss his cheek. "It was funny, so I laughed. You would have, too."

The god glared daggers at him.

"Hon varr ass, gamla vis Hruga uskit'r!"

Tony was certain that this was an insult. It had to be. Yes, clearly an insult. In this situation there wouldn't be one nice word coming from his mouth. Still, it sounded kind of naughty in his ears. And this was the first time the god had ever talked in this language to him. So Tony just nodded and pretended to listen.

"Mhm. Yeah, I totally agree." He nodded, which made the god even more enraged.

"Don't push your luck, mortal."

Tony let go of him.

"Bit too late for that now."

Loki watched the man go to the counter to get a plate of cake and a fork. With a grin he sat down next to Loki.

"Since you didn't tell me that it's your birthday, I don't have a present."

"I don't want a gift."

The man shrugged.

"You will get one, anyway. You can't fight it."

He gave the plate to Loki who just stared at it indifferently, before looking back to the man beside him.

"I don't like this Midgardian food."

Tony just snorted. This was not even a half-hearted lie. Loki ate everything he gave him, so this was probably only his pride speaking.

"Shame." Tony started. "I rescued this piece from Thor's enormous appetite, just for you."

The expression on Loki's face still didn't look very pleased, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He grabbed the fork and got himself a mouthful of the cake, swallowing it before he leaned in and kissed the god. Tongue darting out to play with his lips, until they parted. Loki moaned softly when he tasted the sweetness on Tony's tongue. The man smiled into the kiss.

"See? This day does not have to end shitty."

He got more cake on the fork and held it to Loki's lips, who hesitated for a second before taking in into his mouth. Tony was eager to see his reaction and when Loki offered a small sound of enjoyment, the man started to grin triumphantly.

"I know, that shit's great."

The cake was gone in less than five minutes, without Tony getting another bite and he made a mental note to get sweets more often. He liked watching the god do normal things and his eyes fell on the necklace again. It really suited him so well. A hand instinctively grabbed Loki's neck and pulled him in. Those brilliant green eyes still weren't amused when Tony pressed his lips on the god's soft ones. A snarl came from Loki at the intrusion and Tony couldn't help but chuckle against him.

"Grumpy." He teased.

His second hand caressed Loki's cheek now and charmed a sigh out of the god, before he finally gave in and kissed back slowly.

"Happy Birthday, Loki."

The god opened his eyes and just looked at him, before Tony kissed him once more.

"Really need to get you a present."

He whispered against Loki's lips, before trailing down to plant kisses to his neck. The god tilted his head back to give him more space.

"No need to, Stark."

Tony noticed the use of his surname.

"Are you still pissed at me?"

"Always will be."

He retorted and shut his eyes at the sensation. A hand found Tony's short hair and pulled lightly on it.

"You are so feckless, haughtily and..."

The god was pulled in for another kiss, silencing him abruptly.

"I know. And you can't get enough of it." Tony purred, making Loki smirk.


	23. Chapter 23: If I were free

_A/N: Had to split the chapter because it would be too long. So yeah have an early, a bit shortened chap. Oh, and thanks to Chance 13 for giving me the idea to write this scenario now and not later haha.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 22: If I were free  
**

A few days went by with Tony and Loki enjoying their time alone. After Tony had been drugged and beaten up, there always had been someone around to check on him, or, to put it right, go on his nerves. Everything he wanted was to spend time with the god, who, by the way, still was in a bad mood. The whole birthday thing had left him seriously pissed, even though Tony had tried to turn that evening into something more pleasant. Which had actually worked quite well, for that moment at least.

One day later, the god had shown Tony just how displeased he had been with his behavior. Not that Tony had minded. Loki being all evil and menacing was something incredibly sexy in his eyes. Especially when the disciplining ended with him coming over some kind of furniture. Many of his attempts to calm the god's temper had failed, so Tony resorted in the last thing he could possibly do to change that.

A few minutes he had waited in the workshop. A quick glance to his watch made him roll his eyes.

"Hey there, grumpy, move you're ass down here!"

He called up the stairs again, obviously annoyed that Loki still wasn't about to set a foot into the workshop. He wanted to show him something, something that he would never want anyone to see and the bastard didn't even bother to reply. Another five minutes later, Tony hadn't expected that the god would actually turn up, he heard footsteps behind him. The god narrowed his eyes at the mortal, who had a wide grin on his face.

"Nice to see you too, grumpy."

Loki clenched his jaw and shifted on his feet, clearly a sign for Tony to be careful what to say. He really need to watch his words with Loki being pissed. And the fact that he had a dagger hid somewhere was not assuring either. Still, he couldn't do anything but smile at that face he pulled off. Loki snarled and grabbed Tony by his neck, pressing him against his desk.

"Don't you dare speaking to me in such a..."

Instead of listening to the god's ranting, Tony only leaned forward and caught the man's lips with his own. His tongue flicked over Loki's lips, leaving him speechless.

"Mhh... You taste so nice." Tony crooned, at which the god shook his head and released the smug mortal. "Nah, come on, don't be like this."

With one arm he pulled him near again and turned both of them around to look at the big screen in front of them.

"Just want to show you something."

Fingers tipped on the keyboard, opening up a video file. The god just looked sceptically at the mortal, who clearly looked embarrassed now, fixing his gaze on anything but the screen. The movie played and Loki's eyes returned to the screen, following the image of Tony standing in his workshop in Malibu, surrounded by his robots. Some metal parts were attached to his arms and feet. Loki recognized them as some of the Iron Man armor and before he could blink, the man on the screen took off into the air and crashed into the ceiling. At first there was no change in Loki's features. But when Tony started cursing in the video, his mouth turned into a smirk. Tony watched the god enjoying him failing. The grin turned into a laugh.

"Okay, enough with this."

The engineer pressed another button, which terminated the stream. Loki was still trying to calm himself when Tony started complaining.

"Yeah, I knew you would like that."

"Just a little bit."

Tony knew that this was a lie.

* * *

It was barely noon and Tony was working on his newest suit again. Trying to improve it to the point where it would seem to be perfect for anyone but himself. There was always room for adjustment, something that Loki would never understand. The engineer had tried to involve the god in his work, but he had just huffed and continued reading his books, saying that the _thing _he was working on, would never be able to stand against his magic, thus was not interesting enough for him.

So Tony had left him alone, but it hadn't taken long that the god had joined him in his workshop and taken the spot on one of the oriel corners whenever he had gone down to work. Even now he was sitting there. Tony looked up from under his goggles and glimpsed at him. He smiled to himself when he noticed the god was still wearing the necklace Thor had given him. It was actually good to know that there was something that mattered to him.

He hadn't taken it off since Tony had put it on him. For some reason that made him smile even more. He felt comfortable with Loki around. The god was quiet enough for him to be able to work, and whenever Tony got bored, he was there to get him distracted, or steal a kiss from him. Even now Loki was reading in his corner again. Tony had gotten him new books, as part as a belated birthday present.

Loki was about to turn a page when he noticed the mumbling that came from the man across the room. Something unintelligible, which Loki just decided to ignore. The engineer often spoke to himself while he worked. So this was nothing uncommon. But when the muttering continued for quite a while, he started to grow tired of it. Loki raised his gaze from the book and leaned his head against the wall. For a short moment it was silent again and he sighed and closed his eyes, before the noise came again. The god groaned in annoyance and shot a glare over to the man.

"What is that mumbling about, Anthony?" He hissed.

Tony just stared back impassively.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry I interrupted your little reading session, princess." He snarled right back.

Neither of them spoke another word and went back to their previous activity. Not for long though, because after a few minutes, Tony finally put his gauntlet to the side and slammed down on his chair. His hands moved to his head, shielding the eyes from the artificial light.

"God..."

The word made Loki prick up his ears. Without looking up from the book, he asked in a mocking tone.

"What is it this time, Stark?"

"I'm sick of it!" The man groaned in exasperation, making Loki raise an eyebrow at him.

"Of what?"

The book was put aside, the god's attention completely focused on Tony now. Loki watched the man spin around in the moving chair, clearly not fond of him doing that.

"I feel trapped in my own tower."

The god's mood suddenly changed from annoyed to amused, now snorting and shaking his head.

"Ask me about how I feel about this squalid..." He was cut off by Tony's offended look.

"Watch your words..."

Loki just grinned.

"Then let me say I can relate. And let me guess..."

The god gestured around with his hands and looked out of the window.

"The woman has something to do with it?"

Spinning around in his chair again, the engineer nodded.

"Yup, grounded me, because I'm a potential threat for the company." Tony shook his head. "Ridiculous, I know."

"Such an intelligent individual." Loki teased.

The mockery had its impact on the engineer, who stood up and walked over to the now laughing god.

"Oh, she is."

His voice was low now, barely more than a whisper when he leaned over Loki, supporting himself on the wall behind him.

"She makes sure I'm not getting into mischief."

"Hmm..." The god mused, face just an inch away from Tony's. "Is that so?"

They were sharing the same air now.

"Oh, totally." Tony purred and licked over his bottom lip.

"I see... Then I guess she does a poor job." A chuckle left Tony and he just shrugged. "And in the abstract, what exactly would you do if you weren't grounded, Anthony?"

The already present smile on Tony's lips widened and a finger trailed over the god's chest, slowly opening a button.

"When I could do whatever I wanted?"

He said in a seductive voice, sending shivers over Loki's skin. The hand delicately moved under the shirt, feeling the body heaving and pressing against it.

"I would get you out of here. Display you to the public. Would show them that you're mine..."

Although Loki's features didn't show any reaction, his voice was low and husky.

"Yours?"

Tony grabbed him by his collar and yanked the shirt to the side, kissing the now exposed skin, drawing a gasp from the god.

"Yes, mine." Breath hot against the smooth skin. "And they would look at you, want you..."

Tongue wandering lower now to encircle a nipple. Loki's hands clung to Tony's shoulders, clawing hard enough to leave marks. And it just stimulated the man to go even further down. Fingertips caressed his side now, sliding down to the waistband, teasingly pulling on it.

"And I would let them. Because I would be the only one taking you home..."

Tony breathed against the god's ear, making him shiver in anticipation. This was one rare moment when Tony could make him flustered, wanton even and Tony enjoyed every second of it. Normally Loki was playing with him, not the other way around, so he would make sure to drag this out as long as possible. Tony was whispering now, voice calm and seductive.

"And I'd fuck you. Would take you in front of them. Let them watch while you moan. While your whole body trembles under me."

Loki's lips were parted now and he inhaled sharply when the engineer spoke up again.

"I would not care if they watched."

The god's hands held on to the man's shoulder when he started kissing down his neck. A pleased sigh left him.

"This is what you would want to do if you were free?"

Tony chuckled.

"Oh yeah."

His hands slid inside the man's jeans, cupping his ass.

"Anything else?" Loki asked breathlessly.

Tony looked down to his pants, clearly seeing just how turned on he was by all this.

"I would take you on vacation. Take you to the most beautiful places on this planet. Spend every second with drawing those sweet noises out of you." He hummed against Loki's neck.

"I..." Stuttering was a good sign and Tony smiled to himself. "I could appreciate this."

"Your mood gets better and better."

"I don't know what you're implying with this? I am not such a pathetic human you can..."

Tony silenced him with another deep kiss. Loki growled, but kissed back, trying to get the control back, but Tony shifted one of his hands to his crotch, making him moan into the kiss. When they parted, Loki's eyes were closed, lips swollen and red.

"Ah, well, Stark." He cleared his throat. "You are indeed a good negotiator."

Tony just grinned at this and massaged the guys cock through the jeans, completely lost in the moment, until Jarvis' voice sounded through the speaker. The engineer almost jumped at the sound and groaned at the interruption. Loki just laughed.

"I hope it's important Jarvis..."

"I believe it is, Sir. Just a moment ago, Shield was trying to breach our communication. I took the freedom to throw them out of our system, Sir."

"Good boy, Jarv." Tony felt proud of his creation.

"I might inform you that Shield tries to call again."

While talking to the AI, Tony was still able to open the god's pants and started to stroke the hard flesh.

"Start protocol 7A."

"Of course, Sir. Starting Anti-Shield measures."

The god raised an eyebrow at the man. It seemed as if he wasn't an asset of Shield anymore, judged by the things he came up with to not talk to the organization. Not that he minded. Tony bowed down to lick over the head of his length. A low growl left Loki and he lay back his head at the sensation.

"Shield still tries to call."

Tony looked up, only to see deluded, green eyes looking down on him.

"Damn, Jarvis, can't you see I'm busy here."

"I can, Sir, but Director Fury threatens to... _join the party_, as he had put it, if you don't answer the phone."

Tony heaved a sigh.

"Fuck, have to get that call. We don't want him to get here."

He let off from the god and wanted to get up, but Loki held him in place, clawing at his shoulders with inhuman strength.

"Don't you dare stop now, Stark."

The tone was warning now. Green eyes were staring down on him hard and demanding, making Tony gulp. His hand returned to the already leaking cock, stroking it a few times, drawing a loud moan from the god.

"Be quite then." Tony sneered.

"I thought you don't care if anyone would see you fucking me." The god retorted and pulled Tony in by his shirt.

"Gosh, you're so sexy when you're dominating and threatening me. Even when you're not in the position to do so."

Loki wanted to protest, bu a finger was pressed on Loki's lips, telling him to shut up.

"Get the call, Jarvis."

The AI complied instantly and Tony heard a clicking sound from the speakers, knowing that Fury would be able to hear him now.

"Hey Nick, what's up? Glad you called."

He noticed his voice being shaky and hoarse, full with need, and he hoped that Fury didn't catch that.

"Why did that take you so long to get to the fucking phone, Stark?!" The voice on the line growled.

"It's not my fault you always call in the most inappropriate moments. I'm busy."

Loki bit his lips and hissed at the mortal, when a thumb brushed over the slit of his cock, smearing the precum over the head.

"Jarvis did warn you, buddy." Tony offered and Fury just sighed.

"Do you think there will ever be a good moment? A moment you don't fuck anyone?"

The question was rhetorical, still Tony clearly denied this.

"Nope. I just do this for you, Nicky." He said in a sing-song voice.

"Actually, while we're at it."

The engineer raised an eyebrow.

"Where is Loki."

This startled him.

"What?" He pressed out, feeling caught right in the act.

Maybe Fury was here and was stalking through some window? Without noticing it, Tony pressed down to hard on the cock, making Loki yelp in surprise, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"God, Stark, where is your dignity?!"

The other man snarled and Tony realized that he didn't know just who made this sound. So he improvised.

"It's in this man's ass. What do you want."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the man spoke up again, clearly annoyed by the back-talking.

"You need to come to the Carrier, Stark. We have work to do."

"Work?" Tony chuckled at the god's flushed face. "I'm working real hard right now."

Loki snorted at this, which turned into a muffled moan, when Tony's other hand shot up to cover his mouth.

"We need you to get your pet god and come here, now."

If only Fury had known how right he was with that term.

"Well, Nicky..."

Tony was too distracted fighting with the man over the phone to notice the god pulling on his shirt, trying to get his attention.

"Stark..." Loki hissed, but the man didn't listen. "Anthony, if you don't stop right now, I'll..."

Tony's hand didn't slow down one bit, still pumping the man's length. The god was panting hard, until he couldn't hold back any longer and growled, loud enough that Tony was sure Fury had heard it. Normally he would have melted at this sound, but now he almost instantly shouted for the AI to shut down the line. All passion had gone in an instant. Tony turned to the breathless god.

"What the fuck?! Are you daft, screaming like that with Fury on the fucking phone?!" He yelled at him, only to get shoved out of the way.

"I tried to warn you." Loki spat. "I just couldn't hold on..."

This was odd, normally Loki was the one with the stamina. Brown eyes suddenly lit up and stared at him. Tony's lips turned into a grin.

"Damn, you kinky slut."

He followed Loki through the room, until he faced him, clearly not amused by that nickname.

"Watch your language around me..." He warned, but Tony just kept on smiling at him. "What?!"

Loki zipped up his fly, while Tony wiped his hand on one of the rags that lay around.

"You get turned on when someone's listening."

An annoyed groan left the god and Tony immediately picked up on it.

"You don't deny it."

Tony joked and spun Loki around to kiss the grumpy god. Loki just submitted to the kiss reluctantly, ignoring the still visible grin on the man's face.

"Well, get ready." He said as they parted.

"For what."

"Fury told me to bring you with me? You were right there when he told me that. Or were you too occupied to actually listen?"

The knowing glance that Tony shot him made Loki roll his eyes.

"So, come on."

He gestured towards him and Loki sighed and turned to walk away, but was stopped by Tony's hand.

"Nah, we won't go by car this time."

Before Loki knew what he had meant, Tony stepped on the platform, calling for his suit. For a few seconds the god could do nothing but stare when the metal pieces attached themselves to the man.

"No."

He stumbled back when Tony stepped off the platform, now completely suited up.

"No! I refuse to...!"

Loki snarled, protested and crossed his arms in defense, but the Iron Man moved towards him persistently, making the god back off even more.

"Stark..." His back pressed against a wall. "I swear by the Nine, if you dare taking me up with that thing, I...!"

But the ranting was useless. Tony just picked him up and carried him outside, completely ignoring the struggling and kicking.

"Well, princess. You don't have a choice, you know that thing is flying in the air."

"I don't care!" Loki snarled right back, but fell instantly silent when they reached the end of the balcony.

He looked down and saw just how high it was. He gulped and tried to get out of Tony's grip, but of course wasn't able to with the metal hands holding him close.

"Stark!"

Loki's voice came out in a high pitch. Tony wondered briefly if he was scared of heights, but soon discarded the idea when he thought about the New York incident.

"I give you one last warning..."

The visor of Tony's helmet came down and he rose into the air, the god holding on to him as if his life depended on it. He noticed that Loki shut his eyes tightly and looked incredibly frightened, even though Tony wasn't flying anywhere near high-speed. Despite all, he couldn't help but smile at how the god clung to him and he made a mental note to do this more often. To have Loki this cuddly was worth the hassle. A few minutes later, Tony started to feel guilty. Well, kind of at least.

"Why don't you enjoy the view."

His metallic voice sounded through the helmet.

"I refuse to." Was the cold answer.

"Yeah whatever."

They remained silent for the rest of the flight. As soon as they landed on the Helicarrier, Loki pushed himself off the man, clearly pissed by Tony's happy face when the visor came up again. Before Loki could even open his mouth to speak, he was surrounded by Shield Agents, pointing their guns at him. One of them yanked his arms behind his back, twisting them until the god hissed in pain. Without thinking twice, Tony reached out and tried to break him free.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm your tits. He's unarmed and harmless."

He shoved back the agent who held Loki and supported the god with his arm. Loki rubbed his aching wrists, glaring daggers at each one of them.

"Imbeciles! You dare to...!"

His little speech was interrupted by Tony grabbing his shoulder and shoving him forward, gently but steady. He leaned in to whisper into the god's ear.

"Same applies to you. I don't want you to get shot, so behave."

They walked ahead, followed by a whole bunch of agents. Loki was walking a few steps behind Tony and kept looking around. They were almost at the bridge, most of the agents were still following, much to his dislike. He didn't like those bastard running after them like dogs. Tony found it was strange that Loki wasn't pulling off his usual attitude. He was quiet, walked as if he was a prisoner, which honestly wasn't so wrong. But as soon as they entered the bridge, Loki's lips turned into a mischievous smirk.


	24. Chapter 24: Within enemy territory

_A/N: Okay so, new chapter =) Some ranting, some sexy time, and a lil bit of fluff. Hope you all enjoy. Thanks to my Beta fennris *heart* Love ya_

* * *

**Chapter 23: Within enemy territory**

There was the menacing grin again. Just when Tony had wondered that Loki had been so calm. Everyone's eyes where on them and Loki seemed to bath in their attention. It was as if he was striding into the room now, the complete opposite of his behavior from just a moment ago. Proud and arrogant. Tony just rolled his eyes. It was obvious that the god covered up his insecurity. Or just didn't want to show weakness at all.

"Finally."

A clearly outraged voice greeted them and Tony had no doubt that it belonged to the Captain.

"What took you so long, Stark?!"

Steve stood near the round table, while the others were sitting. Tony examined their faces before he took off his helmet.

"Yeah, well... Grumpy here made a fuss and decided that flying was just not his style." He shrugged. "Tried to carry that diva all the way out here, or keep him from jumping into death, for that matter."

Loki just moaned, which made Tony smirk and look at him for a second before turning around to face Steve again, completely ignoring the assassins and the director. Who, by the way, looked like he wanted to punch his face in. If he had known that it had been Loki who made those sounds on the phone, he might as well would have done that.

"Why exactly was I supposed to bring him here in the first place?"

With a raised eyebrow Tony waited for an answer. But instead of the Captain, Fury was now stepping into the game. The one good eye stared at him, face completely indifferent when he moved in on him.

"The same robots..."

The engineer groaned at the use of the word.

"Drones..." The director retorted and grimaced. "Or whatever you want to call it, Stark, were sighted in Europe. Germany to be precise."

Tony had a pretty good idea of why he was here. It made sense. Still, what Fury planned with the god was not clear yet, so he had to breach the subject once more.

"And why are we here again?" Tony gestured towards himself and the god. "Why is Rudolph here, Nick?"

The man sat down and put his feet on the table, placing his helmet right next to them. Steve clenched his jaw at the movement and spoke up.

"It's complete nonsense. This whole..."

The blonde was interrupted in his swearing by the redhead who sat just a few feet away from him.

"We were told that we wouldn't be welcome." Natasha threw in and looked a bit bored at the fuming man next to her.

"Which is outrageous. We are the good guys, she shouldn't just tell us to... fuck off..." Steve threw in, the last part merely a whisper.

He kept on ranting, without swearing words or curses, of course. The old man and bad words just didn't seem to get along. But Tony knew immediately of whom the man spoke of. Who else would tell Shield to get off the lawn.

"Ah, I see."

Tony nodded and turned his attention to the director. All this time he could feel Loki's gaze lingering on him. He was still standing near the entrance, hadn't moved an inch since they had come in. It was irritating for Tony to have him in his back, not being able to see him, so he gestured at him to sit down. To his astonishment the god complied, drawing one finger over the man's exposed neck while he walked pass him. Tony gulped, but focused on the man in front of him.

"West doesn't like your company, right?" He spat triumphantly before his face turned into a snarl. "And now you want me to get you in. Great."

Tony crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling.

"And why Rudolph?"

An annoyed groan left the god beside him and Tony just shot him a quick smirk.

"We can't let him stay alone in the tower."

"Yeah, because he could do something to end the world! Maybe he would craft a bomb with a paperclip."

The sarcasm made Loki huff a laugh, but the Captain didn't seem to find it very funny. Which was pretty amusing for Tony. At least he had noticed it this time.

"This is serious, Stark."

"Oh, I get that."

The engineer faked a smile and waved at the blonde. He really couldn't take him seriously sometimes. Tony leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Too bad Pepper grounded me. Won't let me play outside."

The skeptical look on Steve's face made him grin and he couldn't wait for him to say these next few words.

"You are already here..."

"Whoops."

The man shrugged and looked to Loki, who was obviously amused at how he was speaking with his team mates. Without breaking the eye contact, Tony waved at Fury.

"Ask her if I´m allowed to go out."

Immediately agent Hill was on the phone and dialed a number. Much to Tony's dislike, he knew that Pepper would say yes to this. She was too responsible to not let him rescue the world. Again. He could hear Steve mumbling about how childish he was behaving and so on, but Tony ignored him, as usual.

His mind went blank when Loki licked over his lips unconsciously. His libido ungently reminded him that he didn't get anything out of their last encounter and Tony swallowed the lump in his throat. Just thinking about it made him edgy. The god really had conditioned him well. The tiniest thought about Loki had that much of an effect on him. And he damned himself for leaving instantly for Shield. He didn't know what had gotten into him. To jump on command was usually not his style. And with the Avengers and hundreds of agents loitering around would make it extremely dangerous to be with him. But Tony wasn't the kind of guy who dreaded challenges. So he smirked once more at Loki, who had seen it, but closed his eyes, the same knowing smile on his lips. There was silence in the room. Even Steve had shut up when Natasha had told him to do so. It was no comfortable silence whatsoever.

"So..." Tony started, just to end this awkward silence. "Does Shield pay for board and lodge?"

A smug grin plastered his face.

"Because, you know. Germany is kinda expensive, and in case Pepper lets me play with you, I won't reside in some scrapped motel. That's not really my..."

"This is a mission, Stark!" The Captain pressed out.

Tony knew that it would make him rage. Steve was the most loyal one of them. Always the good little soldier. And Tony wondered if he even got payed for his work at Shield. He waved at the man and rolled his eyes.

"Chill, Capsicle. I was joking."

Judging by his look, he clearly didn't get that. Tony raised an eyebrow at him before staring into the distance. Apparently agent Hill had problems convincing Pepper. This was already going on for too long. Another few agonizing minutes later, Fury turned to Hill, who actually gave him a thumbs up. With a wave of his hand, two agents moved up to the god and pulled him rudely out of his chair. Loki snarled, struggling and swearing when they dragged him to his feet. Tony wanted to help him. Really. But he knew, if he reacted to this, Natasha would know.

This was fucked up. Where did Fury want to take him. And what did they want to do with him. This wasn't good. He couldn't just let them get him. He had to come up with something to get the god out of their hands. The whole time Tony was looking to Fury. Face neutral, but his brain was working hard. When he heard a pained noise behind him, he cast a glance over to Loki, who looked as if he wanted to stab the two soldiers. Tony sighed and shrugged.

"Hey, where's Thor?"

Not only the Avengers and the director were surprised by that question, even Loki was taken aback by it. The engineer didn't give Fury time to answer.

"What would he do if he'd see you treating his brother like this? Wouldn't be amused I guess. Might as well be really pissed off if he found out. What are you planning to do with the precious prince again?"

Fury grimaced and Tony knew he had won.

"Wasn't there a thing with political immunity for Asgardians? You might want to handle him with kid gloves." The man suggested, expression completely innocent.

For a second both men stared at each other, until Fury groaned and turned his back on them.

"103."

The agents let go of the god, who still snarled at them, but gestured for him to move. Tony sighed, barely audible. Hopefully Loki wouldn't be too sulky later. He was already dreaming again, when Fury's annoyed voice sounded through the room.

"It will take us some time to get there. Get some rest, Stark..."

The engineer looked up at this, unsure if he had heard that right.

"We won't benefit from you when you are jet lagged..."

Tony thought about it and shrugged it off. This was actually a command he didn't mind following.

"Take one of the guest rooms."

"Sure, whatever Nicky."

He stood and grabbed his helmet, winked at Natasha and stalked out of the room.

"We will wake you tomorrow." The blonde called after him.

Tony saluted.

"Yes, Mam'."

He could still hear the captain swearing when he shut the door behind him.

* * *

Of course he had chosen a room close to 103. Apparently no one had cared for it, or had bothered to ask him why. Now Tony was lying on the bed, hands folded behind his back. His suit was stored inside it's suitcase right next to him. He had to wait. Wait till it was late enough so that most of the agents were off-duty. Doing something stupid was not the problem. Getting caught is what you want to avoid. And waiting was not Tony's strong side.

Bored to death he stared to the ceiling. It had been almost three hours now. Actually he had tried to sleep. But whenever he had closed his eyes, his mind had wandered to the god. Wondered what he was doing and what Tony could do with him. Really, sleeping was the last thing on his mind. So he looked around in the sparsely furnished room. Typical Shield room. No style, no ambience. Tony closed his eyes once more. It really wasn't his thing to sit around and wait.

He wanted to see Loki so badly. But just going to his room and hoping to not get caught was probably not going to work. He needed an alibi. And he felt a little bit sorry for what he was going to do. Tony took out his phone and scrolled through the numbers, stopping on Bruce's.

_Hey, you there? _Was sent to the man.

Several minutes later, Tony had already shed the hope that he would write back, the phone suddenly vibrated.

_Where else should I be. Shield keeps me under surveillance. Fury thinks I should not leave the lab. _Came back as a reply.

Tony snorted and wrote back.

_Same old, same old. Will stop by later when I'm able to get Shield off my heels. Have to get my tablet back first. Loki stole it. 'grml'._

This was a lie. But since nobody knew this, Tony wasn't too concerned about this. Tony switched to his hacking device and started it. It was easy for Tony to hack into their system. The bug he had placed on one of the computers on the bridge a few months earlier was still there. He disabled the cameras on the corridors with one touch with his finger. It would take them a few ours to notice it and to get rid of his software would take them even longer. He smiled to himself, jumped off the bed and sneaked to the door, opening it a crack to glimpse outside. Nobody was out there, so Tony almost ran to the direction where Loki's room should be. He hadn't gone to look where it was, but he was certain that he had figured out the scheme of how the rooms were arranged. So he sprinted through the halls, eyes checking the numbers on the doors. He almost ran into two agents, patrolling the corridors. In the very last moment he had been able to press himself against a wall and evade their line of sight.

"Damn, I'm getting too old for this shit." He whispered to himself, before moving down the right corridor.

It took him a few minutes to get to his desired destination. Tony knocked a few times, still looking around intently, but nobody opened or responded. After a few more knocks, Tony grew tired. This was not the time to play games. This really could end bad for both of them, so he tried to turn down the handle, but the door didn't move an inch.

"Damn, Loki, come on..." He stressed. "Open up."

When Tony started to get nervous, the god finally had mercy on him and opened the door. Tony stared into brilliant green eyes, annoyance and anger so clear in them.

"Ah, hey."

Loki didn't reply. He just looked at the engineer without any emotion. This was getting awkward fast. It felt like the first few times they had spoken to each other in the tower. Cold and distant.

"You want some company?" Tony asked, but the god only rolled his eyes.

"What kind of pathetic fool do you take me for, that..."

Loki couldn't end his sentence. The man had grabbed his shoulders and had crushed their lips together, kissing him fiercely. But Loki just pushed him back and shut the door again.

"Oh, come on..." Tony groaned and slammed his fist against the surface. "That wasn't my fault." He pressed out, slowly getting angry.

"It matters not." Sounded from within the room in an almost too cheerful voice.

So he was playing again. Seriously the most inappropriate moment he could have ever picked.

"Let me in before someone sees me."

Tony glanced around, before banging once more against the door.

"Loki, please."

It came out more like a whine than anything else and he could hear the god inside laughing.

"I don't need to. It's open, Stark. You do know how to open a door, don't you?"

The arrogance in his tone made Tony curse. Typical for the trickster. He tried to open it and yes, it was indeed open.

"Oh, fuck you." He said when he stepped into the room and locked the door behind him. "You hear me? Fuck you. What did I do to deserve this?"

Loki sat on his bed, not looking at him.

"Ah... yes. Where should I begin?" He crooned and Tony actually couldn't help but smile at this. Had the god really been angry, he hadn't sounded like this.

"Coquetting with women, with the result of getting yourself injured."

Loki grimaced. And Tony knew why. Loki had been really annoyed, but had remained rather civil for a god of his temperament, that his precious pet had been harmed. This was one thing that was important to Loki. Never break his things. And since Tony was now considered a part of Loki's property, the god wasn't too keen on him doing stupid things. Still, Tony just rolled his eyes at him, sure that he would continue with his little list.

"Laughing at my misery. Being a nuisance as always. And most recently. Dragging me here to get humiliated by these imbecile mortals."

The god shot Tony a glance when the man moved in on him and sat down on the bed beside him. A hand came up and rested on Loki's neck.

"Okay, I got it." Tony said softly before pulling him in and trying to kiss him again, at which Loki only snarled.

It was too late for Tony to get intimidated by any of Loki's threats. By now he knew that Loki wouldn't harm him. Tony pouted a bit.

"Oh, don't be so cold."

"Why are you here now, Anthony?"

This question might have only been rhetorical. Tony was fairly sure that Loki knew exactly what he was after.

"Hm..." The man murmured, while his hand started massaging his neck. "I'm here to tease and annoy you, to get my share of the fun."

Loki frowned, but waited for him to continue.

"Don't make such a face. You got off and I had to get in the suit with a raging hard-on. It's pretty tight in that thing. I am the victim here."

Tony said in a resolute voice, but Loki didn't seem interested in any way. The bastard really knew how to keep an even face.

"And you really think I am in the mood to satisfy your pitiful needs?" Loki huffed.

"Oh, I think I'll manage to convince you."

Tony chuckled and leaned back, pulling the god on top of him.

"Darn. Stark, you..."

The god swore, but was immediately silenced when Tony bucked his hips to meet his. Loki could feel how hard the man was through his pants. Loki chuckled and looked into brown eyes.

"What now, mortal? Aren't you afraid to get caught anymore? It had been important just a few minutes ago."

Much to Loki's dislike, Tony didn't listen. He continued rubbing himself against the body, ignoring him completely, leaving Loki embarrassed and speechless. The god gulped and hissed at him.

"How dare you, you wimpy..."

Loki didn't get an answer. Not even a witty response. Tony was too busy grinding against him and the god ground his teeth, when he started panting because of the sensation.

"Stark..."

Tony's eyes were closed now.

"Don't..." Another move of his hip. "Don't mind me."

"How am I supposed to..."

"I just need..." Was the only thing he got out.

Loki groaned and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt.

"Mortals..." He spat, before he leaned in and kissed Tony hard, drawing a moan from him.

The man kissed back eagerly. It was more a clash of teeth and tongues than anything gentle. A fight for dominance and Tony dragged his teeth over the god's bottom lip, making him growl.

"You are so wanton. I never have bedded such a slut."

Loki used his weight to hold him down, pressing him into the mattress.

"Don't you talk." The engineer suddenly found the strength to talk back. "I remember you begging for my cock, god of mischief."

He sneered and Loki actually laughed.

"Is that so?"

Loki's hand reached between them and opened Tony's pants hastily. Tony gasped at the cold air and the god's hand on his straining erection. Loki started stroking in an agonizingly slow rhythm, which was not enough for Tony. He grunted at the god.

"What? You want vanilla sex? Thought you would do better."

He observed how Loki shook his head and snorted. Tony had relied on this reaction. One could always count on the god's pride. Tony laughed when Loki pulled down his own pants and released his cock, grinding against Tony's. His hand wrapped around both of their lengths and stroked again. Tony looked down between them and smirked.

"So needy yourself, even though you already came earlier. You're already leaking." Tony purred, but was startled when Loki's hand pressed down on his mouth.

"Stay quiet." The god ordered. " Your talking is unbearable."

The hand picked up on speed and Tony let out a muffled moan, bucking into the god's hand. The friction of their cocks moving together was too good. He soon was lost in the sensation and closed his eyes, only to open them a moment later when he felt his erection pressing against the god's entrance. Tony quickly looked into Loki's face, who bared his teeth when he lowered himself on the cock. Damn. Tony always wondered how he could do that without proper preparation. The god's pain barrier had to be way higher than his. Even though Loki seemingly had been just as horny as he himself, he could imagine how painful it was. The hand left Tony's mouth and joined the other on his chest, supporting the god's weight. Tony touched his hips. Not moving, wanting to give him some time to adjust, but Loki rolled his hips, making Tony throw his head back.

"God..." He moaned. "I love when you do that."

The god exhaled sharply.

"Of course you do."

Tony opened his eyes to look at him. Black strands of hair hung into his face. Lips were slightly parted, muttering something unintelligibly. He still wasn't moving. Loki did that for him.

"What?" Tony asked breathlessly.

Green eyes were piercing. Staring right into his soul.

"I want someone to come in."

Tony gulped at this. But before he could tell Loki how nuts he thought this was, Loki slammed down on his cock again, making him shut up.

"I want them to see you like this. This is the moment you are most beautiful and vulnerable at the same time."

The sound of Loki talking made it hard for Tony to focus on anything else. The tone was so hungry, so obsessive and Tony bathed in every syllable that left the god's mouth.

"I could lead you into a trap and you would freely run into it, fall for it so nicely."

"Yeah, but you..."

Loki had leaned in, now lying on him, breathing right into his ear.

"You wouldn't do that, would you?"

The answer was a small giggle, sending shivers over his skin.

"Never Anthony."

The god whispered and lifted his hips, almost letting the dick slip out, before the slammed back down. Both of them were moaning shamelessly now, never leaving the other's eyes. Tony wasn't sure if the god was honest with him, or if he lied to him, but this was a thought that was quickly cast aside when it knocked on the door. Both men jumped at the sound and Tony stared at Loki for help, but the god only glimpsed to the door once, before his lips turned into a mischievous grin. Tony wanted to shove him off, but to no avail. He just stayed where he was and grinned at him. Tony could hear his own heartbeat.

"Get off." He pressed out, grinding his teeth.

"Why now, all of a sudden? You did want this so badly, am I not right?"

Tony gasped when the person on the other side of the door spoke up.

"Brother, are you in there?"

Loki's grin widened and he started rolling his hip again, fucking himself on Tony's dick. The man bit back a moan.

"You said you like me being loud, Anthony."

Realization struck Tony and he gestured to the god to not do what he had in mind.

"Don't!" Tony stressed, but it was wasted effort.

Loki lifted himself and rocked down again, throwing his head back and hissing.

"Yes!"

Tony was left speechless by this and hoped that Thor would not notice the husky tone in his brother's voice.

"I need to talk to you about your birthday." Sounded it from the corridor. "I am dearly sorry, brother. Please let me in."

Tony's heart was racing in his chest, and he wanted to get up and run, but Loki took his hand in his own and guided it to his mouth. His tongue lashed out to lick over one of the fingers before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it. Tony was barely able to contain the groan in his throat. The god's tongue swirled around his finger skillfully, and the man was reminded again that the god's nickname was indeed silver tongue. Literally.

"Fuck, Loki..." He whispered.

"Brother?"

Thor's concerned voice could be heard again. Loki pulled Tony's hand away and placed it on his cock. How the god could be so calm was a mystery for Tony.

"I can't come to the door right now, Thor."

His voice was even, but Tony could see the desire and lust in his eyes.

"I am tied to the bed."

How true and how false at the same time.

"Are you not feeling well? I could get one of their healers." Thor offered and Tony slowly started to feel bad for him.

His doubts were easily scattered when Loki leaned in and licked over his bottom lip, before pressing his lips gently on Tony's. It was a simply gesture and Tony caught himself losing it, suddenly feeling close to release. Their kiss was interrupted by the blonde god pushing down the door handle, trying to get in.

"Brother, when you're not feeling well, I..."

"I am feeling utterly orgasmic, Thor. Do not worry."

The raven-haired god crooned and Tony closed his eyes at the choice of words.

"Then let me in. I have to settle this with you."

Thor was pleading now. He was clearly too persistent for Tony's liking. Loki started to plant kisses on his neck now, urging the man to stroke faster. He couldn't do anything but comply, with Loki panting against his ear. Those noises were too alluring. The god bit his lips to not moan loudly when Tony dragged his thumb over the head of his cock.

"I'm afraid..." Loki managed to sit up under great effort. "I'm in the middle of a... study. I don't want to get disturbed now."

There was silence now. Only a few seconds later Thor seemed to have resigned. "Fine. I might come back later, if that is alright with you."

They could here footsteps echoing off and suddenly Tony felt Loki clench down hard on him.

"Too tight."

He breathed, right before Loki came with a silent scream over his hand. The sight drove the man over the edge too, spending himself deep within the god. It took both of them a few moments to come down from their high. When Loki lifted himself off the man, still sitting on top of him, Tony still had his eyes closed.

"Are you fucking mad?"

He growled and opened his eyes to look at the trickster only to get stunned. Loki was out of breath, cheeks blushed, skin glistering with sweat. He pulled Loki down to him and put his arms around the god.

"You really want me dead, don't you?"

"Hmm..."

The god hummed and relaxed into the touch, obviously enjoying this as much as Tony did. The moments they were actually cuddling were rare. Both weren't the type for anything romantic or cheesy, but right now the closeness was something they needed. Tony's fingers brushed over the silky hair, getting it out of his face. It was hypnotizing and Tony smiled to himself when he heard the god sighing. Loki was heavy, but he couldn't care less for this right now. He just wanted to lie there, looking at the beautiful face of the god resting on his shoulder. For some reason Tony felt even closer to him now, feeling comfortable and secure. And without noticing it, he drifted off to sleep with his supposed foe in his arms, deep inside enemy territory.


	25. Chapter 25: Are you in love?

_A/N: Okay this has taken forever. My free time has shrunken to a minimum since I started working. So I apologize for the lack of updates. But therefore this chapter is a lil longer and contains fluff and smut and drama and everything. There will be massive shit going down in the next chapter by the way =D I hope you like it and write a comment =)_

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**Chapter 24: Are you in love?**

Tony was woken by light. Actually it was a fucking beam of light, hitting him directly in the face. He blinked a few times and groaned, cursing the sun and tried to get away from the irritating bright light. Turning his head to the side, he wanted to shift to a more comfortable angle, just to notice that his arm was limp. Tony grimaced and tried to move it, but with no success. His eyes shot open to look why he wasn't able to. The sight that greeted him completely made up for a dead limb.

Loki was still lying half way on him, head resting on his shoulder. This might have been the most peaceful state he had ever seen him in. When sleeping he wasn't some maniac, or evil, menacing god. All Tony saw was how his black hair fell into his face, how his lips were parted and how he huddled up against him. The engineer raised his free arm and took a look at his watch before closing his eyes again. Two in the morning. But the sun was already up. He would definitely be jet lagged tomorrow. But this couldn't be worse than being drunk on a mission, so he shrugged it off and turned his attention to the sleeping man beside him.

His arm hurt, but he couldn't get himself to pull it away. He reached up to run a finger over the silky skin and brushed a strand of hair out of Loki's face. A smile crept onto his lips and he sighed.

"Gosh, you're so stunning..."

He mumbled and could barely content a laugh when the god grimaced and snuggled even more against his shoulder. It was kind of unusual for a monster, at least that was what everyone described him as, to be so cuddly. Longing for closeness and affection. Even when he would never admit that in a wake state. Tony decided to just lay here with him for a few more minutes and enjoy it as long as he could. Because who knew. Maybe Loki would be back to his old, cold self when he woke up. Couldn't risk missing out on this. Unfortunately for Tony, he didn't know for how long Jarvis would be able to breach Shield's security system. He had to get up.

"Ugh.. Damn." Tony murmured.

His mumbling had been loud enough to wake Loki from his sleep. The god blinked sleepily at the man, obviously not awake yet. Loki smiled gently at him, too long hair hanging into his face and Tony pulled him up into a kiss. He couldn't get enough of those lips and scent. He moaned when Loki kissed back lightly, not forcefully and passionately, just moved his lips softly against his. Hands found their way to Tony's neck, tugging on the short hair, keeping him close. Both men smiled when they finally parted to catch their breath. Tony rested his forehead against Loki's, caressing his cheek with his thumb. His heart raced in his chest, but he didn't dare to say a word. This might have been a good opportunity, but Tony knew that it would kill the god's good mood if he said anything stupid. So he swallowed his desire to talk and pressed another kiss to the soft lips.

"Need to go..."

He whispered into the others mouth, who just groaned and held him in place, not letting go of him.

"Hm..." Loki responded a few seconds later, eyes suddenly awake and staring at Tony. "I don't think so."

The look he threw him made it clear that he wouldn't let him get away that easily. With Loki being all serious mode there wasn't really anything he could do. Except for staying, of course. And it wasn't as if he wanted to go, especially with that tongue licking over his neck now. How the god was able to change from sleepy into horny so fast wasn't something he quite understood yet, but was certainly nothing he would ever complain about. In this situation not the most intelligent way he could go. God knew he tried to get away from that delicious face and the fact that he still was very much naked and... He just couldn't resist him. Tony sighed in defeat and shot him a glance.

"You know that they will kill me when they find out, right? Which will actually happen, when I don't get up right now."

The smug smile on Loki's face really didn't look good. Promising but definitely not good.

"Yeah, you probably have fantasies about me being smashed by a big hammer..."

Lips encircled his earlobe.

"Oh, not at all." The voice of pure sex whispered and Tony couldn't help but shudder. "As a matter of fact I could imagine much better things with that toy."

He purred, but finally got up from the man, grimacing at the sticky mess they had made. He rid himself of his remaining clothes and stalked into the small bathroom. Tony just followed him with his eyes, trying to cope with that information. For a minute he just lay there with a non believing expression on his face, before throwing one leg over the bed and sitting up. Normally he would have showered, but he decided to just wipe it off with the sheets instead. Maybe later if there was time. The engineer zipped up his pants and hopped off the bed, stalking into the the room in which Loki had disappeared. He sneaked up on the god and hugged him from behind, laying his chin on his shoulder.

"Make yourself scarce." Loki said playfully, no anger or resentment present in his voice. "It's too dangerous for you to be here."

The sarcasm made Tony grin and he kissed the man's cheek.

"You're right. You are too damn dangerous."

Loki's chuckle sounded like music in his ears and it was the one thing he wanted to hear for the rest of his life. A genuine laugh was nothing you get everyday from the god of mischief.

"So this is our vacation then." Loki snorted and escaped his grip to get into the shower stall, which Tony greatly disliked. "So you got what you desired."

"Vacation?" Tony repeated and rolled his eyes. "This..." He gestured around. "Is no vacation. With all those people around, having a close eye on both of us, it's more like an asylum for maladjusted kids."

The god turned his head in irritation, before he turned the water on. Clearly not wanting to know more of this.

"Welcome to my world."

Was the only thing he said to this.

"I know..."

Tony grunted and turned his gaze back to the shower, words getting stuck in his throat when he saw Loki standing there, water running down his back and Tony swallowed hard. Just watching him like this made him want to step in and take him right there. But there was no time for this. The longer he would stay here the more likely it was for Shield to notice his absence. Tony struggled with himself, but when he saw Loki slather himself with bathing lotion and the sweet scent reached his nostrils, his resistance was shattered.

"Oh, fuck it."

He proclaimed and hastily opened his pants and sliding his shirt over his head, scattering the clothes on the floor, before stepping behind Loki into the shower. The god was not surprised by this reaction and soon started laughing, when hands roamed his body.

"Fuck, you smell so good."

Tony said, massaging from his shoulders down to his hip, rubbing the lotion into his skin. Much for Tony's discontent, Loki seemed to ignore him. He just continued taking the shampoo, but Tony caught his hand mid air and stole the bottle from him, pouring some into his hand and rubbing it into the long, silky hair. Loki raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word. Tony wondered if they had some kind of maid for this in Asgard. He clearly hoped it was not the case. Fingers combed through the black strands and Loki sighed when they fondled his neck, turning into a moan when those hands slid down over his ass.

"You wanted to go."

The god pressed out and leaned into the touch, his body betraying those calm words.

"You didn't give me any choice."

Loki laughed at this, obviously enjoying the fact he had this effect on the engineer.

"You just hop into the shower, slicking up your precious body up with this... delicious smelling stuff and expect me to just walk away from that? Yeah, no."

Tony took the shower head and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair.

"Not afraid of Shield?" Loki teased and rubbed himself against him.

Tony only tsked, hung the shower head were it belonged and pressed himself against the god in return, ground his erection against the slick flesh.

"I'm more afraid of missing out on this."

His husky voice send shivers over Loki's skin, making him smirk smugly back at the man.

"Your loyalty lies so clear, were it shouldn't be. How delightful."

Tony's hand pressed his head against the tiles in front of them.

"Shut up."

He smirked and spread Loki's cheeks, placing the head of his cock at his entrance. Tony never averted his gaze from his face. Green eyes looked at him with this intensive emotion, tongue licking over his own lips, corners of his mouth twitching while he smiled.

"So dominant today."

"You told me you could take it."

Loki huffed.

"Of course."

The tone was sharp all of a sudden and Tony didn't quite know what to think of it. It might have been just one of his games again, but he wouldn't fall for it this time.

"It's so..."

The god began, but was silenced when Tony pushed the head inside, but didn't move any inch further. The sight of Loki getting flustered was priceless. Loki inhaled sharply when Tony pulled out, just to repeat the motion.

"You were saying?"

He breathed and the god bared his teeth in a snarl, before chuckling, catching Tony off guard.

"It's amusing."

His voice was still so neutral, despite the fact that he pushed back on Tony's cock so eagerly.

"You think you are in control."

Tony groaned when Loki's body moved back again, making him press in even more until he was completely buried inside the god. This didn't go as planned.

"Hng..."

Loki moaned delicately and rolled his hips.

"Even when you take me, I am the one holding sway over you. I get exactly what I want. Always."

Tony growled deep in his throat. He wasn't going to let him win so easily. He didn't knew since when this had become so important for him to win his games. Damn, he was the one who got to top an ancient, Nordic god. He did already win. The thought made Tony smile triumphantly as his hands roamed over the smooth skin. Everyone would die to be in his place. Hell, any person would gladly take his position. Tony tightened his grip on Loki's hips and thrust into him. This was not going to be gentle or loving. Both of them knew this. And when Tony saw the god's brilliant green eyes, full of lust, staring back at him, he didn't even want to hold back anymore. He started pounding into Loki, pressing him hard against the wall, leaning in to bite into his shoulder blades. The god growled, voice now heavy with need.

"Come on then, Stark." He panted. "Show me how much you worship me."

Tony wanted to snort at those words, but the sound never left his throat. Loki ached his back, angled himself so Tony could thrust even deeper into him and he moaned when his cock brushed his prostate. Those sounds were bound to drive him mad. Tony was addicted to them.

"God, you..."

He brought out, intensifying his rhythm, slamming into him with more force. His hand found the wet hair and pulled hard, turning Loki to face him. The water was running down on them, already too hot by now, so Tony turned the handle to make it colder. The sudden change in temperature made Loki open his eyes and moan. Goosebumps covering his skin, and Tony ran a hot hand over his back, making him arch away from the touch. Tony grinned and let some water flow over his right hand, cooling it down, before he reached around to grab Loki's straining cock. The god jumped at the cold, but soon bucked into the hand, trying to get as much friction as possible. Apparently this game of hot and cold had its effect on the god.

Loki was moaning shamelessly now, looking at Tony with those eyes, telling him without words that he was close. But Tony wouldn't end this so soon. He was enjoying this way too much. So he took his hand away and the god instantly cursed under his breath, snarling at the man behind him. Before Loki could touch his length, Tony pulled out and spun him around, pinning his hands above his head.

"Always in control, huh?"

Tony chuckled at the growling sound that left the god's throat, grabbed his leg and held it up, only to align himself at his entrance again.

"You might tell me how much you want me now, oh almighty god."

He teased, leaning in and licking him over his collar bone. The silence made him look up, grinning at the blushing man. The water ran down his skin, black hair sticking to his face and Tony placed a finger on his lips.

"No witty response? Too bad."

The man said in a sing-song voice, not doing anything but nipping on Loki's earlobe. He could feel how he started to shiver, not from the cold, but the frustration of Tony not doing anything. Of course Tony knew what he wanted. Granted, he wanted the same, but this time he would not be the one begging. He hummed when he rubbed the head of his cock against his entrance, observing every little muscle twitching in his features. Loki had closed his eyes, hanging his head, silently panting against the engineers chest. The god ground his teeth when Tony tilted his chin up and smirked at him, pushing just a little bit inside.

"Still too quiet." He whispered and rolled his hips, drawing a gasp from the man. "I think you can do better than this."

Tony's grip was firm on the god, now slamming into him, growling when he felt the tightness and heat again. A silent hiss was heard and fingers came up to his neck and held him close, digging into his flesh, hard enough to leave marks. Judged by the strength he was positive that they would be visible for at least a few days. Even though the god clung to Tony while he pounded into him, he didn't say one word. Only little gasps and hisses were forced out of his throat, and Tony became more and more amused at the fact that the god seemed to really not want to give up his game. This whole time brilliant green eyes stared into his, never breaking the eye contact. It made this so much more intense for Tony, looking him into the eyes while he fucked him, seeing every little motion of the man's body. Tony let himself fall to his knees slowly, carefully pulling the god with him until he was sitting on his lap. Loki's arms were still wrapped around his neck, their faces barely an inch away from one another. Tony brushed his hair back, fingers caressing the spot right underneath his ear, before he moved in and sucked on his neck.

"Loki..." He breathed, hot against the cool skin.

A shudder ran through the god when he heard his name, clinging to Tony even harder than before. Tony moved his hips, slowly thrusting up.

"Loki, come on..."

A tongue traveled up to his ear, before Tony captured Loki's lips with his own, kissing him passionately. Despite all, the god kissed back without hesitation, teeth dragging over his bottom lip, making the man moan into the kiss.

"Loki..."

Tony said again, pleased with the reaction he was getting from him. Loki had closed his eyes, gasping whenever his name rolled of the man's tongue. Apparently he wasn't used to hear it in this context.

"Let me hear your beautiful voice..."

He whispered seductively, bucking his hips slightly. And with these words he had won. Loki instantly opened his eyes and threw his head back, moaning as the cock brushed against his prostate.

"Anthony..."

His voice was hoarse, barely audible, but Tony had heard it, cupped his face with his hands and kissed him again, more forcefully this time, only parting when they needed to breath. Tony's hands wandered down to his hips, helping him move up and down his cock. The water was still raining down on them, cool on their heated bodies when they slid against each other as the god rode him. Their kisses got messier, rhythm all frantic and Tony knew he was close. Loki was holding on to him tightly, panting against the crook of his neck, trying to stifle a scream of pleasure when Tony reached down and started stroking the swollen cock. A thumb stroked over the head, making him moan again.

"Anthony, I..."

"Cum, don't hold back."

The hand sped up and with a scream Loki came over Tony's hand, aching his back, clenching down on Tony almost too hard for him to bear. Loki still rode him through his aftershock and it only took a few more rolls of his hip to drive Tony over the edge. Both were breathless, enjoying the waves of pleasure running through their bodies. For a moment they just sat there, let the water rain down on them, not moving one bit. A minute later Tony chuckled and huddled against the god's neck.

"Can't get enough of this, ever." He mumbled and only heard a small laugh from above.

"Is that so?"

Tony clenched his jaw at the retort. Apparently the god never had something nice to say. It was always him, even if it was only after they had sex and even then barely more than a few words. Still, it put him on edge.

"Okay, get up."

Tony spat, lifting the god up, much to his surprise and raised to his feet. Loki stood, green eyes focused on Tony, full of irritation.

"Why so hurried all of a sudden?"

He asked, but Tony ignored him and put his head under the water for a few seconds, hand ruffling the wet hair before he stepped out of the shower. When Loki came into the room, wearing his clothes from before, drying his hair with a towel, Tony was already dressed. The engineer was staring at his phone, checking the security software one more time. The cameras were still showing the freeze frame he had planted into their system. Pleased by this the man stuffed the devise into his pocket and moved to the door. The god followed.

"Petulant now, are we?"

Tony sighed and turned to him with an obvious look of annoyance on his face.

"Really?" He snorted and shook his head.

"Ah..." Loki mused. "This again..."

Slender fingers reached up to hug the man, pulling him in to lick over his lips.

"This insecurity does not suit you Anthony."

"Yeah, blame me for your lack of emotion."

Narrowing his eyes, Loki pulled at the short brown hair, making the man hiss.

"Lack of emotion?"

An amused laugh escaped the god and Tony briefly wondered why he was not angry, but clearly entertained.

"What do you want me to say?"

The fingers still played with his hair, a sweet smile playing on Loki's lips. Tony didn't knew if it was genuine or not. And really, what did he want him to say? There was a million things he would like to hear, but none of it was meant to be said. He himself wouldn't even say it. Soft lips brushed against his own, driving away Tony's anger.

"Nothing." He said as they parted, clawing at the man's shirt. "Just keep kissing me."

"A splendid idea."

Loki pressed himself against Tony, sighing when his tongue requested entrance, complying willingly. A few minutes went by before Tony finally decided to drag himself away from the god.

"Okay enough now, or I won't ever leave."

Loki just smirked at him.

"Isn't this what you want?"

"Is it?" The man only countered and pressed down the handle to open the door.

He stepped outside, only to almost topple over Thor, who apparently had waited in the hallway. The god looked at him from the floor, with the same startled expression that Tony wore.

"Man of Iron, what..."

The blonde raised from the ground and towered over him, gaze shifting between Loki and him.

"What is going on here, brother?"

This was all happening too fast. Tony's brain searched for a fitting lie to cover them up, but Thor was already stomping towards the black-haired god and grabbed him by the collar. Tony was on him in a second, trying to calm him down, but the thunder-god silenced him with a mere stare.

"Don't say a word. You might be a friend, but don't think I won't make you quiet."

Never had he imagined such a threat coming out of Thor's mouth. But whenever Loki was concerned, he seemed to get all emotional. The bastard had that effect on others. Tony was yanked from his thoughts when Thor's voice roared through his ears again.

"What did you do, brother?"

Loki grimaced at the name, but didn't do anything to break free.

"I don't recall this being your business, Thor."

Venom was dripping from his voice. It was the most threatening tone he must have ever heard from him.

"What?! You bring dishonor to your family with your..."

Thor was about to lose his temper and Tony decided that this was not the place to start a conversation that would draw anyone's attention to them. If you could call the snarling and growling a conversation. He pushed the two squabblers inside and shut the door behind them.

"Cut me a break, Blondie."

The tall god only shot him a glance before he turned back to Loki.

"You bed him."

This wasn't a question. Tony hated the fact. And for his surprise Loki just chuckled, didn't even try to deny it.

"So, what now, Thor? What are you going to do about this?"

Thor averted his gaze, not daring to look into the piercing green eyes.

"Come on, this is not..." Tony tried, but was cut of by Thor's hand pushing him away forcefully.

"You should not speak. You disgrace my brother, betray me and your comrades. You are not..."

Thor forced him back against a wall, only to get shoved away by his brother.

"Do not speak on my behalf, imbecile!" He snarled. "You do not know a thing."

Suddenly Thor was silent. Staring at him, obviously thinking. Perplexed, he stepped forward, cornering his brother.

"You are serious."

Tony gulped, couldn't do anything else but observe the two men. Loki's face was completely blank, not showing any trace of emotion. Thor shook his head. The silence was more than enough to tell him what's going on.

"Loki, this is not right."

His brother huffed at this.

"You are a hypocritical fool." Loki snapped at him. "Or aren't you with that...woman of yours anymore?"

Thor closed his eyes, deeply in thought, before reaching out to place his hands on Loki's shoulders.

"Loki. With a mortal, of the same gender even, you can't ever..."

This was too much for the thunderer to comprehend.

"What won't he be able to do? You guys so closed-minded?"

Tony's interjection seemed to catch the blonde off guard. No words came from him. Loki had mercy and sighed.

"It is not forbidden, nor uncommon in Asgard to have a partner with the same gender, but the laws clearly state that marriage is only allowed between a man and a woman. So my dearest brother is concerned for my reputation among the citizens of Asgard. Or, the probability that is more likely. He is concerned about his own and fears that the black sheep of the family will cast a shadow on his all too glory being."

A malicious grin formed on Loki's lips as he looked at Thor.

"This is not... the reason why I..." The god sighed, but stared at his brother intensely. "What are you planning?"

Loki just laughed.

"Planning?"

A, very likely fake, hurt expression graced his features now.

"Why is it that you always think only the worst of me, beloved brother?"

Thor still looked serious. Not convinced at all.

"So you are in earnest with this?"

The tone of his voice implied that he didn't believe any of it and Loki didn't even bother to answer. This was their usual dance. After a few minutes Thor turned to Tony, who now leaned against a wall and raised an eyebrow at the approaching god.

"As your team mate and friend, I have to warn you, Man of Iron. My brother is..."

Blue eyes looked to the ground, the god seemingly trying to find the right words.

"...of rather manipulative nature. Do not trust in his words."

A hand found Tony's shoulder, and he would have taken a step back if he hadn't been with his back against a wall. The thunderer's eyes were pleading for him to believe his words and Tony felt sorry for him. It didn't matter to Tony if the god was planning something. Well, maybe respectively. That was definitely something to think about, something he should think about. But he had never been the one thinking everything through. Especially not when Loki did those amazing things with his tongue and... Tony caught himself smiling, before gazing up into a frowning face.

"Eh, well..."

"You waste your breath, Thor. This mortal is too obstinate to listen to any good advise."

The raven-haired god strode to Tony's side and leaned on him.

"Besides... The only thing he wants to hear is my voice, Thor."

One could feel the air becoming thick. The way Loki was holding onto him made Tony feel like he used him as some kind of shield. Which was probably the case. He could see how Thor tried to control his anger. And he knew that Loki wouldn't leave it at this. Tony shivered when he felt him breathing into his ear.

"This mortal..."

The engineer didn't dare to move at all, eyes focused on the angry blue orbs in front of him.

"...is mine."

Loki's hand dug painfully into his shoulder now. One moment earlier he had wanted him to say this, but now, with this intonation, it had become rather creepy.

"And how..." The blonde pressed out. "...are we supposed to tell the team? They will not approve of this."

"You mistake me for someone who cares."

Thor was one of the patient kind, but even his patience had a limit. And it was bound to run out soon. Whether this was bad for Loki or him didn't matter, Tony just knew he had to prevent this from escalating. Which would definitely happen if he wouldn't intervene. So Tony pushed himself from the wall and the god holding onto him and stalked through the room. All eyes were on him as he walked, neither of the brothers stirred from their spot. Both of them expected him to say or do something in their favor. Unfortunately for Thor, Loki would win this trade.

"Just don't tell them." Tony indifferently suggested and shrugged.

"We can't conceal the truth from our allies."

Thor was furious. Tony understood that. There was nothing he could do if Thor decided to peach on them. But he had the feeling that the thunderer could be easily maneuvered into the right direction. If Loki was able to talk him into anything, he would also be able to do it. This was not the nice way and Thor didn't deserve this, but it was necessary. After all it was Tony's life which was at stake here. Not that Shield would execute him, okay Tony wasn't so sure about this, but they would totally send him to prison. And the director would laugh into his face. No way, he couldn´t allow this. Tony looked at the blonde and smirked.

"Did work until now."

In afterthought, he really shouldn't have said this. Because the thunder-god was on him in an instant, almost flying through the room and picking him off the ground. Suddenly this wasn't funny anymore. Except for Loki, who started laughing.

"How long has this been going on between the two of you!?"

Tony grabbed the hand that held him and patted it.

"Okay calm down, you don't want to strangle me." Tony stated and was put down again a second after.

"How long?"

The god asked again, quiet now, muffled voice and ground teeth. This was even more intimidating than before. Tony swallowed.

"When did you move in?"

The question was addressed to Loki, still the man watched every move of the tall god in front of him.

"A little over four months ago, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah then... A little under four months?"

He smirked and was frowned at.

"You want to tell me, friend..." The last word was uncharacteristically emphasized. "That you bed my brother since basically the day he was consigned to your care? Lie to my face how you hate his presence. Feign your discontent to me, so I feel guilty?"

"It sounds so harsh when you say it."

He was right though. This was exactly what had happened. Thor was growling at him now. The anger for his brother completely forgotten. Tony wondered briefly if this was one of Loki's ploys to distract Thor from himself. An obviously successful tactic.

"Really you should think about it."

Thor narrowed his eyes and let the man continue. An opportunity that Tony took gladly.

"It would be safer for everyone to not know about this. Imagine what Fury would do to us if he'd knew."

Thor seemed to consider this and opened his mouth, but Tony didn't give him a chance to speak.

"He would shove my ass into jail, which, by the way would be a great loss for humanity. Loki here would possibly end up as his personal test subject. And hey. You don't want him to get seriously hurt, do you?"

The god stiffened at this.

"And he would blame everything on you. Since you are the reason he is here after all. And as an accomplice, who knew about all this. Well, don't know what he has in store for you, big guy."

Thor muttered something in Norse, probably something close to a curse. Tony really had to learn that language at some point.

"Director Fury wouldn't..."

"Oh, damn well he would." Tony interrupted and huffed. "You should have seen him sending his fucking jet fighters after me when I wasn´t in the mood to talk. To talk. This is, by comparison, a fucking million times worse."

The engineer felt how Loki's disapproving stare bore into his head, but he decided to ignore it. Thor was still standing there, shifting his weight to the other feet, eyes lying on Tony.

"I don't approve of this, brother."

His gaze flickered to Loki for a second.

"Aren't we hypocritical today. But yes I don't approve of your relationship with this puny mortal woman as well."

Thor was about to go at Loki's throat, but he just held his hands up in defeat, stopping him in his tracks.

"But since this is not of my concern, dear brother, I won't interfere. Which is exactly the situation we find ourselves in now. What I do in private is none of your business, Thor."

After a few minutes of silence, Thor groaned.

"Fine. I will not tell anyone for the time being."

Tony exhaled audibly and let his head fall to his chest.

"That's good. Right?"

He looked at Loki, who just stared back uninterested.

"Nothing is well. Do not mistake this as an act of acceptance, just because I won't turn in my brother."

Tony rolled his eyes and chucked the god's shoulder.

"Wouldn't have guessed." He joked.

Thor didn't care for him anymore and went over to his brother, suddenly reminded on the purpose of his visit.

"Brother, could we talk in confidence? I wanted to speak with you about the..."

Thor gasped when he saw the chain on Loki's neck. He took a step towards him and touched his arm.

"I'm so happy you accepted the gift."

His mood changed immediately and he practically beamed at him now.

"I did not." Loki sneered. "It was this, in your opinion, unworthy mortal who corrected your mistake. You have to thank him for me wearing this."

Thor turned to face Tony once more and nodded at him, gratefulness clear in his features. He wanted to speak, but Tony waved at him.

"Here to please. Someone has to calm the diva's temper."

The man grinned at the snarling god.

"Was that all then, Thor? I don't fancy you being here. Although I appreciate your apology..."

Tony raised an eyebrow at this.

"...I can't bear you near me any longer."

The god said calmly and pushed Thor towards the door.

"But..."

"You see me being well, so don't dance around me like our mother has always done it. Leave."

The tone was darker now. The god had obviously enough of this. Loki opened the door and shoved Thor out in one fluent motion.

"Are you in love?"

Thor asked suddenly, looking over his shoulder to Loki who was taken aback by the question. Even Tony stood there with his mouth open, not breathing anymore. He knew what the god would say to this, still he waited in anticipation for what he would answer. Loki's eyes were cold and collected, not giving anything away, until he shot a glance to Tony. His lips turned into a smile before he laughed.

"Love? You are such a naive child, Thor."

Tony couldn't help but clench his jaw at this.

"This is a merely physical agreement. Serving only the purpose of satisfying each other's needs."

"Yeah sure..." Tony grumbled to himself. "You sure he won't tell anyone of this little...agreement?"

Loki frowned at Tony's obvious annoyance over his wording.

"He won't. Wouldn't want to disgrace his family even more."

"This is not what I meant, brother, and you know this."

Loki wrinkled up his nose at the puppy eyes staring at him. Tony moved to his side and narrowed his eyes.

"Say, have you been sitting in front of the door the whole time?"

"Yes, why..."

Thor looked at him in confusion, before his eyes widened.

"Brother, don't tell me you..."

An answer was not necessary. Thor groaned and Tony could have sworn he saw him blush, just before Loki chuckled.

"Do you have every information you sought for now? Then leave."

"We still need to talk about father's plan."

Tony didn't like the sound of this.

"We will, if you move out of my sight right now."

The thunderer nodded and took his leave, finally letting them alone. Instantly the door was closed and Loki was on him again, pressing Tony against a wall.

"This went better than expected." Tony brought out, while Loki's tongue licked over the shell of his ear. "He's pretty tame when you're around."

"Hmm." Loki breathed against his neck. "It has always been like this. He claims to be immune to my wit, but see, he is nothing but a stupid child."

Tony shrugged and leaned into the touch.

"You're already in the mood again? Pretty insatiable."

"I need to claim what's mine after all."

The phrase made Tony grin, only to whine a second later when the god moved away from him again and showed him the door.

"Get out now, before all the others of your precious friends find out what you do with your prisoner."

He held the door for the man, who reluctantly left as he was told.

"Fine, princess, see ya tomorrow."

Tony placed a kiss on the smirking lips before he scurried outside and rushed through the corridors.


	26. Chapter 26: He's a little pest

_A/N: Sorry for taking so long. My work did get the best of me this past weeks. I decided to write shorter chapters so I can update more regularly. So jeah. Meh._

* * *

**Chapter 26: He's a little pest. **

When it knocked on the door, Tony was still asleep. He basically jumped out of his bed at the sound and swallowed down the lump in his throat. A glance around told him that he was alone, a fact that made him sigh in relief. His mind was still on the thought of him and Loki making out with Thor sitting in front of their door. The realization struck him instantly and he growled at his own stupidity. Fuck. Tony ran a hand through his hair and clenched his fist before slamming it into the bed. Thor knew. This was the last thing they needed. When Thor decided against keeping the secret it would be his downfall. Loki had told him from the start that their relationship was bound to be disastrous. But Tony was not about to let anyone take the god away from him. The thing between them was far too good to just end it, no matter how destructive it was.

It banged on the door again, startling the man and yanking him from his thoughts. Tony turned to look at the door and grimaced when he checked his watch. Right. He should have been on the bridge at nine o' clock. And now was already noon, which meant that the team would give him a lecture again that being late was not suitable for a member of the avengers and whatever else they wanted to tell him and hadn't had the chance yet. Tony winced at the sound of the next bang, now louder and piercing in his ears and he felt a headache forming in his temple. He hadn't slept well, if at all and was feeling like crap. Actually one thing Fury was right about. He should have slept to avoid the jet lag. Not that he regretted anything he did with Loki the previous night, but he definitely would have felt a lot better if there hadn't been a whole night full of sex. Unbelievable for him to just think about this.

Tony ended up getting out of bed when the next bang followed. Slowly he scuffed to the door and opened up, only to look into an unamused face of Natasha, staring right back at him. Without bothering to say anything she eyed him up, raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to follow.

"A good morning to you too..." Tony dead-panned but stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. "What crawled up your ass?"

It wasn't that Tony expected her to answer the question, but Natasha gave him a warning glance nonetheless.

"Fury is waiting. If you would have moved your ass out of bed I wouldn't have to disrupt your beauty sleep."

She countered and left the grumpy man standing in the hallway. Just because of that, Tony moved intentionally slower than ever.

* * *

You could cut the air within the bridge. The atmosphere was stretched to the breaking point and Tony wanted to immediately return to his quarters. The whole team, minus Bruce and Thor was sitting on the round table, staring at the god of mischief, who was casually laying back in his chair at the opposite side. Thor was leaning against a wall, watching him when he stepped into the room. His expression was blank, not giving away anything, but Tony averted his gaze just in case he could aggravate the thunderer with just his presence. The way Steve looked at him made Tony crawl inside. It was the kind of gaze you shot someone before jumping onto their throat. Which was possibly normal between those two, but not the most suiting condition for a mission. Not that Tony really cared for the mission, or what ever Fury planned with this visit in Germany, but he was just a little bit worried about those two dead-panning at each other. Loki was sharp enough to talk himself out of everything, he knew, but when the god decided to carry it too far and Steve snapped, it would end badly for him. There was no way he could let that happen.

Natasha entered first and sat down next to her partner, exchanging small nods, before she whispered something into Barton's ear, never leaving her eyes off Tony. The man tried to hold back a laugh and Tony deliberately shook his head at them, before sitting down next to Loki and offering a quite _hey. _The man looked bored and yawned, the yawn turning into a grin as soon as Steve murmured something incoherent.

"Something the matter, Captain?" The god asked, voice full of delight, completely untypical for him.

Tony was still amazed how well he was covering up every little trace of emotion, turning his intention into the complete opposite. Of course the others knew that he wasn't genuinely concerned about Steve's well-doing, but only Tony could see the amusement behind his green eyes. His love for teasing people and playing pranks on them. This was not about causing them harm, it was only to kill time. They were obviously no threat, the god didn't take them seriously enough to be scared or polite. Which was kind of strange considering that the Avengers kicked his ass back in New York. Steve still glared at the god, but didn't give an answer. The silence became unbearable for Tony, so he stretched and blatantly gestured between the two of them.

"Something I need to know about you two?"

Steve cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly not getting what he was aiming at. The frowning face kept staring at the engineer, making him laugh and run a hand over his face.

"Damn, you look at him as if you want to fuck..."

Before Tony could complete the sentence, the frown changed to a disgusted expression.

"Stark!" Steve gulped, red flushing on his cheeks.

Everything concerning the topic sex made the man uncomfortable. A welcome opportunity for Tony to dig in. He loved to make the naïve grandpa blush.

"Your face is all red, gramps. Should I take this as a confession?"

"What?!"

Even the assassins had to smile because of the irritated man, who gestured wildly with his hands. Tony ignored Steve and his repulsed face and leaned forward, supporting himself on the table and turning his gaze to the director, who stood a few feet away, facing the window front.

"So, Nicky? Are we there, yet?"

Without even looking at him, his voice sounded through the room, monotonous as always, but soon turned into something close to a snarl.

"We are already over German air space. Shouldn't be more than half an hour. Do you think you can behave like a normal person as long as we are stuck here with you Mr. Stark?"

The biting tone made Tony back down from any witty response his brain came up with. The man seemed to be stressed more than usual, which was no good sign at all. Fury was no fun at parties, everyone knew this, but normally he was calm and collected, always focused on the job. But now he looked absent, so Tony let it slide.

"Nice..." He pressed out and leaned back.

For long ten minutes nothing happened. It was silent except for the occasional murmuring and shifting. Natasha showed Clint something on a tablet, her lips forming a slight smile when Clint chuckled. Both of them were close, barely touching each other, still the thing they had been obvious for Tony. They tried to hide it, successfully so, to most people anyway. Why they didn't just make it official was beyond him. Tony noticed that Steve was still glaring daggers at Loki, who stared back with the same intensity. For a moment Tony wondered if Steve was indeed suicidal. That guy really didn't get that Loki drew pleasure out of this. Out of the corner of his eye he saw how Loki smirked at the captain, before winking at him. He thought he didn't see that right, but the annoyed growl from Steve told him that Loki really did wink at him. Tony didn't like it.

"What is it, murderer?!" Steve spat and stood up, banging his fist on the table, making everyone look at him in surprise.

Tony just rolled his eyes at the outburst. This reaction was exactly the one Loki had anticipated. Steve was just fueling the fire. The game had been decided as soon as it had started.

"I don't know what you mean, dear captain." The charming voice of Loki said. "I thought you would like the attention." The god eyed the man up from head to toe. "With your glorious costume. The patriotic hero."

"Loki."

Thor warned, voice low and dark. But the raven-haired god only smiled innocently back at him and nodded, before looking at Steve again. The man could barely contain his anger.

"You stupid...!"

He gnarled at Loki, wanting to reach out to him, but was stopped by the blonde god, who lay a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Loki didn't look concerned at all, bored even. He didn't even twitch. The grin faded off his face though and got replaced with bewilderment.

"Do you call me a liar? Isn't it the truth I'm stating? You are always placing yourself in the middle of everything. Even more than Stark." Loki closed his eyes and chuckled. "Bathing in the attention of those seeking your guidance, yearning for it. You don't have anything else in your life but this, isn't it so?"

The god smiled at the enraged face.

"Are you describing yourself, Trickster?!" Steve brought out through gritted teeth. "You sound so arrogant it hurts."

He leaned in, bowing over the table, stopping only an inch away from Loki.

"How stupid could you possibly be?"

Loki huffed at this, not answering. He wanted to know what the captain had to say. Intrigued by him, Loki raised from his chair, just enough to be on Steve's eye level.

"Oh, enlighten me." He said seductively and licked over his lips.

"You are here, among your enemies, without powers and dare to behave like this." Steve sneered and straightened again. "You really must be stupid."

Loki's smile never faltered. He looked confident, not intimidated or scared in any way. Tony knew why. The god was sure that no one would actually harm him. And he was right with this. Thor and he himself would intervene if someone would even touch him. Tony's gaze went back to the captain, who was seemingly taken aback by the reaction. The moment Loki opened his mouth to speak, Tony nudged him under the table, hoped to silence him with it, but the touch only spurred the god's excitement. Loki flashed his teeth in a grin.

"You are stupid for thinking of me as vulnerable." He averted his gaze to meet Barton's eyes. "Ask your friend."

The assassin screwed up his nose and tsked. Now that he thought about the event, Tony was suddenly reminded that Loki was indeed dangerous. Even without his magic, the god was trained in battle, skillful with his knives and he really didn't want to know what else he could do. Come to think of it. Did Loki had his knife with him? He hadn't seen the dagger since the last time when he had been threatened with it. Tony reached around his back to check for it and when his fingers found cold metal he sighed and shot the now amused god a glance.

"But rest assured, Captain..." Loki began once more. "I can and will put you to silence, if you continue to behave like the irritant you are."

Steve's eyes were wide in anger, wings of his nose flaring, so hard was he trying to keep his calm.

"Yeah? Alright, let's do this. Let's go outside."

The captain gestured with his head towards the corridor, still standing at the table, hands clenched into fists. Tony heard how Fury growled in annoyance. Even Natasha seemed to have enough of these men.

"Calm down, Rogers." She said, voice low and testy. "You do exactly what he wants..."

Instead of listening to her, in this case, good advice, Steve snarled at her. Something Tony would not recommend to anyone. One wouldn't want to end up on her interrogation list.

"I really don't care!" Steve cut her off before she could say anything else. "He thinks he can just come here and insult us!? What is he thinking!?"

The man turned his gaze back to Loki, who looked more and more amused by his rising anger.

"You should really shut your mouth. You have no ally here and are at our mercy."

Tony got startled when the god suddenly started to laugh.

"At your mercy?"

The tone in his voice got dangerously low now and Tony almost jumped when a hand touched his tight.

"With no allies?"

The engineer went rigid when finger traveled up his leg. He was trying to keep any emotion from appearing on his face, but he was certain that the god did this on purpose. Proving his point that Steve was wrong. He tried to shove the hand away, but the god's grip was too firm for him to get rid off without drawing attention. And Loki wasn't even looking at him, while drawing circles on his thigh.

"It's not in your power to stop or kill me, mortal." The god spoke again. "And you know that so very well. And it gnaws at you to be so weak. You think you are in control, but you err. A mere look makes you livid. Embarrassing."

Loki sneered and let his hand slide further up Tony's leg, fingers touching his groin now, making him gasp. His cock twitched inside his pants, already half hard with just one touch. The god had too much influence on him. While Steve kept ranting, the engineer cleared his throat to get him to stop this stupid play. Normally he would enjoy this. The possibility of getting caught was exciting, but this went too far. If he wasn't careful Loki would blow their cover. And really. It looked as if he wanted to do exactly this. The engineer gulped and bit his lip when those slender fingers roamed the area of his dick. Fuck this. He had to do something about this situation. Move his chair or that hand or...Damn him.

Loki cupped his erection through his jeans, making it hard for him to focus on anything besides the hand. Loki's eyes still lingered on the captain while the delicate fingers cut their way into his pants. He trailed his hand along the man's throbbing member, teasing the sensitive head, charming a sigh out of the man. It went on for a few more minutes, until Tony was barely able to retain himself. Loki was toying with him again. And it was not good that he liked it. If someone would choose to walk around the table, they would not only see the massive boner he had, but also the god's hand on just that. Tony tried to calm his racing heartbeat, he inhaled sharply before grinning at Steve , who still argued about how the god shouldn't be here and instead be in prison. Tony now bucked into the hand, finally gaining the attention of the god next to him. Loki's lips turned into a grin. Green eyes now moving over Tony's body, until they locked with brown. Loki started to massage harder, making it almost unbearable for Tony to suppress a moan. Everything Tony could think of was coming right here and now. The friction was too good to keep a clear head. His breathing got unsteady and Tony could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

But when he was close, Loki suddenly stopped all movement and gave his attention back to the captain. Desperation was the only thing that could describe the state he was in now and whined mentally when Loki shot him a mischievous smile. He got pulled from his thoughts when he heard his name.

"Stark, you will back me up on this, right?"

It caught him off-guard. Tony tried to find his voice, clearing his throat once more. He sounded nothing like himself, shaky even.

"You know how he is, little pest."

Faking a smile, he turned to Loki and formed _fuck you_ with his mouth.

"Just be happy you don't have to deal with this the whole day. Seven days a week. For months."

Steve was silent now and looked down to the ground, considering what the engineer had just said.

"No envy on my part there..."

He grumbled and finally sat back down at which Tony visibly exhaled. He felt as if he was radiating heat. Burning from the inside. And all he wanted was to excuse himself and jerk off somewhere. Tony ground his teeth again when his gaze fell onto the smirking god next to him. Damn that bastard. Loki bit his lips and tried to hide that grin of his when he saw the expression of Tony's face.

"Okay are we finally there yet?"

The engineer snorted, drumming with his fingers on the table, desperately trying to distract himself from his erection pressing against the fabric of his jeans. Fury didn't answer, it was agent Hill who raised her voice instead.

"A few minutes until we reach destination. Could you all be patient and behave like adults until then? It would be quite appreciated." She commented callously, making Tony roll his eyes.

Hopefully he would be able to calm himself until then. Wouldn't want to run around with a hard-on. Not that he had any hope that Loki would leave the topic alone. He was actually certain that the god would continue with his fucking game. And when he did, Tony would turn the tables, yank him away from his team and fuck him in some alley. Didn't matter where. Just the god, face first against the cold concrete, taking him completely, moaning and sweating. Ivory skin slapping against his... Okay these thoughts were not helping. Tony shook his head to clear his mind, only to see that knowing smile on Loki's face. This would definitely be an exhausting day.

* * *

A few minutes later Fury led his team, containing a rather weary engineer and a much too delighted god, to the hangar, where a helicopter already waited for them to take off. A smart move to not park the carrier where everyone could see it. It had already been too much of a hassle to actually get everyone into one vehicle. Tony didn't need the press or fans to know that they were here. These people were already enough to deal with. For the first time this day, no one said a word. Silence was just what he needed now. As soon as Tony drifted off to sleep, he was rudely woken by Clint's fist.

"Come on..." He mumbled before also getting off the helicopter, shooting a last wary look over to the man.

"Fuck, this stupid bastard..."

Tony rubbed a hand over his face and cursed more until he heard a small sigh.

"That enunciation of yours leaves much to be desired." The familiar voice retorted.

Loki was facing the exit before turning around and leaning in, pressing soft lips onto Tony's. The kiss was over before it even started and Tony looked after him when he exited the vehicle, body already longing for more. He swallowed hard and raised to follow, a swear escaping him almost unconsciously. It was raining. Not any kind of rain, it was absolutely bucketing down. It had always been raining when he had come here and Tony briefly wondered if there were sunny days in this city altogether. He grimaced when raindrops hit his face and hurried to get the umbrella agent Hill offered him.

From the corner of his eyes he noticed Thor talking to his brother a few meters away from them. Apparently the blonde wasn't too amused with Loki's performance from earlier and clutched at his clothes, pulling the god near to his face. Tony clenched his jaw at the sight. Both of them were already soaked, standing in the rain for too long. Could gods get the flu? Loki didn't really seem bothered at all, laughing into his brother's face before he was released and Thor stomped over to them. The raven-haired god walked over slowly and came to stand a few feet away from Tony. As much as he wished to let the god under his umbrella, getting him out of the rain, Loki just shook his head and gestured towards the crowd.

"Finally."

Clint rolled his eyes in exaggeration and even Fury sighed when a female figure emerged from the rainy fog. Tony tried to recognize her face, but his eyes automatically skipped over her face to her body, at which he thought to hear the god behind him growl. Long legs, tight skirt. And damn those curves. Loki was at fault that his libido went fucking overdose. Now he had to deal with it. He could see she had long, brown hair when she came nearer, a smug smile playing on her lips when she looked over to him. He had never seen her before. She wore a business suit, a ring binder under her arm and came to stand before Fury, observing the man before speaking.

"Tony Stark and company, I suppose?" The woman sneered.

She offered a hand for Tony to shake, who instantly took it and blinked in surprise at the firm grip.

"I don't want to beat around the bush. My name is Isis Bane. I am here to get you to the West Tech administration building. Preferably safe. We won't guarantee for your safety, though."

An evil grin formed on her features before she turned and directed them to a limousine.

"We sure didn't expect to have the complete Avengers team here. And especially not the director of Shield himself." The woman shot the agents a mustering gaze. "We can surely say that we are not pleased with your interfering, Mr. Fury. This incident does not concern any of..."

The director snorted.

"I don't care for your opinion, Ms. Bane. Would you kindly bring us to West?" The man with the eye patch pressed through gritted teeth, trying hard to hold his temper.

The omnipresent smile on Isis' lips grew wider when she looked into his eyes.

"Of course. At least I can try."


End file.
